IA 


AT    LOS  ANGELES 


Readings  and  Recitations 


Readings  and  Recitations 


FOR 


JEWISH   HOMES  AND 
SCHOOLS 


COMPILED    BY 


ISABEL    E.    COHEN 


philadelphia 
The  Jewish  Publication  Society  of  America 

i895 


• , . 


9  • 


Copyright,  r^r-,, 
By  the  Jewish  Publication  Society  <>i    America 


Press  01    Ed.  Stern  &  Co.,  Ino  ik  pi  >ra  m ■ .  . 


*  *  < 


PN 

s  <VSOS" 

z:  PREFACE 

The  object  in  making  the  present  collection  is 
to  provide  matter  suitable  for  reading  and  recita- 
tion in  Sabbath-schools  and  Sunday-schools,  at  en- 
tertainments of  Jewish  societies,  and  in  the  home 
o£  circle.     Incidentally  there  has  been  an  endeavor  to 
g  illustrate  some  phases  of  Hebrew  history  and  char- 
,j  acter,  and  to  show  the  influence  for  good   that  the 
Bible  of  the  Jews   has  had  upon  the  history  and 
u,  literature  of  the  English-speaking  peoples. 
2      The    difficulties    in  making  selections  from  the 
•  available  material  have  not  been  few;  nor  does  the 
a  compiler  expect  her  judgment  to  meet  with  approval 
^from  every  one. 

It  is  believed  that  nothing;  altogether  devoid  of 

literary  merit  has  been  admitted,  and  it  is  hoped 

ttthat  the  presence  of  familiar  and  even  hackneyed 

to  poems  and  excerpts  will  be  excused  for  their  beauty 


*or  appropriateness. 
E 

C 

3      Philadelphia,  November,  iSgj. 


I.  E.  C. 


354£ 


23?i«/i« 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  Publication  Committee  acknowledges  its  indebtedness 
to  the  following  publishers  and  authors,  who  have  permitted 
the  use  of  copyrighted  matter: 

Messrs.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York.— Bryant's  Song 
of  the  Stars,  and  "-No  Manknoweth  of  his  Sepulchre:'1 

Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York.— Humboldt's 
Descriptions  of  Nature  in  the  Hebrew  Writers  (from  Cos- 
mos); extracts  from  Charles  Readers  Bible  Characters. 

Messrs.  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston  (by  arrange- 
ment with  them).— A  Idrich's  Jttdith  (extracts,  and  The  Jew's 
Gift  (from  Mercedes  and  Later  Lyrics) ;  Browning's  Saul 
(extract) ;  George  Anson  Jackson's  Legend  of  Iyob  the  Upright 
(from  The  Son  of  a  Prophet) ;  Emma  Lazarus' s  Bar 
Kochba;  The  Crowing  of  the  Red  Code;  The  Banner  of  the 
Jew,  and  extracts  from  The  Dance  to  Death;  Longfellow's 
Azrael,  The  Legend  of  Rabbi  Ben  Levi,  Sandalphon,  and 
extracts  from  Judas  Maccabceus ;  Whittier's  The  Cities  of 
the  Plain,  The  Wife  of  Manoah  to  her  Husband,  Ezekiel, 
and  The  Two  Rabbins. 

Messrs.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York.— B.  W. 
Richardson's  A    Legend  of  Paradise  (from    The  Son  of  a 

Star). 

Messrs.  Roberts  Brothers,  Boston. — Edwin  Arnold's 
Azar  a  fid  Abraham,  Abraham's  Bread,  and  Ozair  the  Jew 
(from  Pearls  of  the  Faith,  or  Islam's  Rosary). 


6  ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

Also  to  the  following  for  the   use  of  works  published  by 

them  : 

Messrs.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York. — Grace  Agtti- 
lar's  The  Pharisees  (from  Women  of  Israel). 

Messrs.  William  Blackwood  &  Sons,  London.— 
David  Kaufmann's  The  Future  of  Judaism  (from  George 
Eliot  and  Judaism). 

Messrs.  J.  M.  Dext  &  Co.,  London. — Mrs.  Henry  Lucas's 
Translation  of  the  Ode  to  Ziou  (from  Songs  of  Zion). 

Mr.  John  Highlands,  Philadelphia. — Horatio  Sonar's 
Mount  Hot: 

Messrs.  Macmillan  &  Co.,  New  York.— Matthew  Arn- 
old's Israel  and  his  Revelation  [horn  Literature  and  Dogma). 

Messrs.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Soxs,  New  York.— Israel  as 
Bride  a  /id  as  Beggar,  and  Forgiven   (from  Joseph  Jacobs'1 s 

Jews  of  Angevin  England). 

Messrs.  George  Routledge  &  Sons,  New  York.— E. 
II .  I'lumptre's  The  Water  of  Bethlehem  Gate  (from  Three 
Cups  of Cold  Water),  and  an  extract  from  The  Queen  of  the 

South. 


3 
4 

Psalm 

XXIII      . 

5 

Ps  \1-.M 

XXVII    . 

6 

Psalm 

XLII 

7 

Psalm 

LXXX      . 

8 

Psalm 

CXXI 

CONTENTS 

Page 
i   The  Futurk  of  Judaism   (From  George  Eliot  and 

Judaism)          .        .        .          David  Kaufmann  13 
!  The  Harp  the  Monarch  Minstrel  swept 

Lord  Byron  18 

.  Jonx  Milton  19 

.  George  Herbert  20 

James  Montgomery  21 

James  Montgomery  22 

Bible — Revised  Version  23 

James  Montgomery  25 
9  Song  of  Rebecca  the  Jewess 

(From  Ivanhoe)       .        .        Sir  Walter  Scott  26 

10  Descriptions    of    Nature    in    the    Hebrew 

WRITERS  (From  Cosmos) 

Alexander  von  Humboldt  27 

11  Thou  art.  O  God      .        .        .       Thomas  Moore  31 

12  The  Spacious  Firmament  on  High 

Joseph  Addison  32 

13  Song  of  the  Stars   .    William  Cullen  Bryant  ^ 

14  View  of  Paradisi: 

(From  Paradise  Lost)     .        .        .  John  Milton  35 

15  Tubal  Cain        .        .     ■  .        .  Charles  Mackay  5s 

16  Azar  and  Abraham          .        .       Edwin  Arnold  40 

17  Abraham's  Bread             .        .       Edwin  Arnold  41 

18  Abraham  and  the  Fire- Worshipper 

Leigh  Hunt  i  i 


8  CONTENTS 


Page 


19  The  Cities  of  the  Plain 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier      48 

20  Benjamin  accompanies  his  Brethren  to  Egypt 

Bible — Leeser's  Translation      50 

21  Joseph  and  his  Brethren 

Bible — Leeser's  Translation      55 

22  Passage  of  the  Red  Sea  .       Reginald  Heber      58 

23  Song  of  Moses     .         Bible — Revised  Version      59 

24  Mount  Hor  .        .        .       Horatius  Bonar      62 

25  Burial  of  Moses         .        .        C.  F.  Alexander      66 

26  Weep,  Children  of  Israel       .  Thomas  Moore      68 

27  "  No  Man  knoweth  of  his  Sepulchre  " 

William  Cullen  Bryant      65 

28  Deborah's  Song  .  Bible — Revised  Version      7c 

29  The  Wife  of  Manoah  to  her  Husband 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier      73 

30  Death  of  Samson 

(From  Samson  Agonistes)        .      John  Milton      77 

31  Ruth Thomas  Hood      79 

32  The  Child  Samuel      .        .        J.  D.  Borthwick      8c 

33  Saul  (Extract)       .        .        .     Robert  Browning      81 

34  The  Water  of  Bethlehem  Gate  (From  Three 

Cups  of Cold  Water)        .  E.  H.  Plumptre      87 

35  The  Raising  of  Samuel     .        .        Lord  Byron      9c 

36  Song  of  Saul  before  his  Last  Battle 

Lord  Byron      92 

37  David's  Lament  over  Saul  and  Jonathan 

Bible— Revised  Version      92 

38  The  Songs  of  the  Night 

The  Hebrew  Review      94 

39  The  Dedication  of  the  Temple 

Bible— Leeser's  Translation      96 

40  Azrael 

(Spanish  Jew's  Tale  in  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn) 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     ioi 

41  The  Pools  of  Solomon 

(From  Tancred)        .        .   Benjamin  Disraeli     103 

42  The  Queen  of  the  South 

(Extract)      ....       E.  H.  Plumptre     106 


CONTENTS 


Page 


43  The  Youthful  and  the  Aged  Solomon 

The  Hebrew  Review    ho 

44  Elijah"s  Interview       .        .        .        .Campbell    113 

45  Elijah       ....     The  Hebrew  Review     115 

46  Oh  !  Weep  for  Those  .        .     Lord  Byron     117 

47  The  Jewish  Captive. 

Elizabeth  Oakes  Smith     118 

48  Idolatry  .        .    Bible — Leeser's  Translation     121 

49  The  False  Gods 

(From  Paradise  Lost)  .         .         .    John  Milton     122 

50  The  Captivity 

(From  Bible  Characters)      .       Charles  Reade     126 

51  By  the  Rivers  of  Babylon  we  sat  down  and 

wept    ...."..    Lord  Byron    128 

52  But  who  shall  see      .        .       Thomas  Moore    129 

53  A  Prayer  of  Tobias      .  Michael  Drayton     129 

54  Vision  of  Belshazzar  .        .    Lord  Byron    132 

55  Belshazzar  B.  W.  Proctor     134 

56  Ezekiel  .         John  Greenleaf  Whittier     135 

57  Legend  of  I  yob  the  Upright 

(From  T/ie  Son  of  a  Prophet) 

George  Anson  Jackson     139 

58  Judith  and  Holofernes 

(From  Judith)         .    Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich     142 

59  The  Prayer  of  Mardocheus 

Michael  Drayton     147 

60  Nehemiah 

(From  Bible  Characters)       .     Charles  Reade     148 

61  Nehemiah,  Reformer 

(From  Bible  Characters)        .    Charles  Reade     153 

62  Mahal  a  and  her  Seven  Sons 

(From ///das  Maccabams) 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     156 

63  Judas  Maccabeus  (From  Judas  Maccabaus) 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     164 

64  The  Battle  of  Beth-Horon 

( From  Judas  Maccaba'us) 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     167 


10  CONTENTS 

Page 

65  The  Pharisees  (From  Women  of  Israel) 

Grace  Aguilar  170 

66  Lines  for  the  Ninth  of  Ab 

Solomon  Solis-Cohen  173 

67  The  Wild  Gazelle         .        .        .    Lord  Byron  174 

68  Ozair  the  Jew  .        .        .        Edwin  Arnold  175 

69  Bar  Kochba      ....       Emma  Lazarus  178 

70  1  n  Exile 

(From   Synagogalc   Poesie  des   Mittelalters   by 
Leopold  Zunz)    ....  Rabbi  Joseph     178 

71  The  First  Crusade 

(From    Synagogalc   Poesie   des   Mittelalters  by 
Leopold  Zunz)    .       Kalonymos  ben  Jehuda     179 

72  The  Jews  of  York 

(From  Curiosities  of  Literature). 

Isaac  Disraeli     181 

73  Trial  of  Rebecca  (From  Ivanhoe) 

Sir  Walter  Scott     1S7 

74  The  Jew's  Gift      .        Thomas  Bailey  Aldrich     199 

75  Plea  for  the  Jews   before   the  Council  at 

Nordhausen 
(From  The  Dance  to  Death)    .  Emma  Lazarus     202 

76  Exhortation  to  the  Jews  of  Nordhausen 

(From  The  Dance  to  Death)    .  Emma  Lazarus     206 

77  The  Expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Spain 

(From  Coningsby)        .        Benjamin  Disraeli    209 

78  Of  the   Prophecies  concerning  the    Disper- 

sion and  Restoration  of  the  Jews  (From 
Discourses  on  the  Evidence  of  Revealed  Reli- 
gion)       ....         Joseph  Priestley     214 

79  Civil  Disabilities  of  the  Jews 

(Extract  from  Speech)  .        .    T.  B.  Macaulay     219 

80  Civil  Disabilities  of  the  Jews 

(Extract)        ....    T.  B.  Macaulay  224 
Si  The  Crowing  of  the  Red  Cock 

Emma  Lazarus  232 

82  Tin:  Banner  of  the  Jew      .       Emma  Lazarus  233 


CONTENTS  I I 

Pa<;k 

83  The  Legend  of  Rabbi  Ben  Levi  (Spanish  Jew's 

Tale  in  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn) 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     235 

84  Sandalphon 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow     237 

85  The  Rabbi's  Vision      .        .  Frances  Browne    239 

86  The  Two  Rabbins 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier    243 

87  A  Legend  of  Paradise  ( From  The  Son  of  a  Star) 

Benjamin  Ward  Richardson     246 

88  The    Dying     Hebrew's    Prayer     (From    The 

Devil's  Progress)         Thomas  Keble  Hervey    253 

89  A  Jewish  Family  .         William  Wordsworth     258 

90  The  Week  (From  Bible  Characters) 

Charles  Reade    259 

91  Friday  Night         .  Solomon  Solis-Cohen    260 

92  The  Sabbath  (From  The  Genius  of 'Judaism) 

Isaac  Disraeli    263 

93  Sabbath  in  the  Jewish  Camp  (From  Alroy) 

Benjamin  Disraeli  265 

94  Ode  to  Zion     ....     Jehuda  Halevi  267 

95  Sabbath,  my  Love  .        .        .     Jehuda  Halevi  271 

96  The  Harvest  Festival 

(From  Tanc red)  .       Benjamin  Disraeli    272 

97  Israel  and  his  Revelation  (From  Literature 

and  Dogma)        .        .        .    Matthew  Arnold    276 

98  Israel  as  Bride  and  as  Beggar 

(From  Jews  of  Angevin   England,   by  Joseph 
Jacobs) Elchanan     277 

99  "  Forgiven  " 

(From  Jews   of  Angevin  England,   by   Joseph 
Jacobs)       ....      Yomtob  of  York    27.8 
100  Jewish  Nationality 

(From  Daniel Deronda)         .        George  Eliot     280 


"And  so  I  penned 
It  down,  until  at  last  it  came  to  be, 
For  length  and  breadth,  the  bigness  which  you  see." 

— John  Bunyan. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  JUDAISM 

(From  George  Eliot  and  Judaism) 

Destroyed  as  the  national  independence  of 
Judea  was  by  Rome,  from  the  bones  of  the  van- 
quished there  had  already  arisen — the  Avenger; 
a  branch  severed  from  the  parent  trunk  became  a 
rod  of  correction  for  the  oppressor;  and  a  solitary 
Jewish  idea  sufficed,  in  its  disfigurement,  to  shatter 
the  Roman  Mythology  and  all  its  faded  splendor. 
And  that  idea  arose  to  unimagined  power,  and 
rolled  ever  on  and  on  like  an  avalanche,  crush- 
ing the  states  over  which  it  passed.  But  though 
it  conquered  the  world,  it  remained  without  effect 
on  those  who  were  its  originators.  Banished 
from  their  home,  they  spread  abroad  over  every 
land,  outwardly  disunited,  inwardly  at  one.  The 
Rigid  in  motion,  the  Eternal  in  transition,  they 
advanced  through  time,  deaf  to  all  allurements, 
hardened  against  all  oppression,  and,  as  it  were, 
insensible.  They  accepted  their  destiny  as  a  dark 
necessity ;  they  did  not  ask — why  ?     They  had  a 


14  THE    FUTURE    OF    JUDAISM 

task  ;  they  were  forced  to  live  and  to  transmit 
downwards  as  an  inheritance  the  inviolable  legacy 
left  them  by  the  nations.  Their  path  was  marked 
by  blood  and  tears  ;  but  faith  in  the  final  victory 
of  truth  glowed  among  them  ;  and  they  believed — 
they  knew — that  with  them  alone  did  the  truth 
abide.  Thus,  harassed  by  all,  they  have  survived 
all ;  and  when  the  dawn  of  a  happier  age  began  to 
break  for  them  as  for  others,  it  illuminated  a  people 
numerically  greater  after  eighteen  hundred  years 
of  oppression  and  persecution  than  in  the  days  of 
its  highest  power,  and  a  race  able  to  enrich  every 
literature  of  the  world  from  its  treasures,  even 
after  men  had  inhumanly  and  treacherously  sought 

to  deprive  its  mental  life  of  light  and  air 

It  is  more,  however,  by  the  question  of  the 
future  of  the  Jews  than  by  the  enigma  of  their 
marvellous  preservation  that  public  reflection 
is  demanded.  Is  the  end  and  result  of  their 
glorious  history  to  be  their  fusion  and  disappear- 
ance among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ?  Why  then 
all  this  loving  care  ?  Why  these  grievous  chains  ? 
Why  these  streams  of  blood  and  tears  ?  Is  this 
despised  minority,  from  whose  womb  have  sprung 
the  religions  which  rule  mankind,  still  to  be  called 
upon,  at  the  grave  of  her  daughters,  to  comfort 
and  lift  up  a  despairing  world  ?  Or  will  the  sem- 
blance of  unity  which  even  now,  if  invisibly,  binds 
together  her  dismembered  limbs,  grow  paler  and 
paler  in  the  sunlight  of  progress  ?  Will  the  hopes 
with  which  the  thirsty  have  for  centuries  allayed 
their  pangs  keep  ever  running  drier  and  drier,  and 


THE    FUTURE    OF    JUDAISM  1 5 

finally  shrink  to  the  miserable  remnant  to  which 
they  are  compared  by  shallow  merriment  ?  Are 
the  Jews  still  a  people,  a  sickly  body,  indeed,  but 
one  to  whom  youth  and  health  may  return,  or  a 
bleached  and  scattered  heap  of  bones  ?  Are  these 
bones  destined  ever  again  to  live  and  move  ?  .  .  .   . 

No  one  will  maintain  that  faith  has  soared  to 
any  very  great  elevation  among  the  Jews,  in  re- 
cent decades;  nevertheless,  in  comparison  with 
earlier  times,  figures  prove  that  apostasy  has  be- 
come rare  among  them.  The  reason  usually 
alleged  is,  that  their  increasing  liberty  and 
ameliorated  condition  render  that  step  super- 
fluous ;  but  fully  to  explain  the  fact,  it  must  be 
noted  that  the  Jews  themselves  have  begun  to 
recognize  a  nationality  in  Judaism — and  a  nation- 
ality which  cannot  be  laid  aside  like  a  garment. 

What  will  follow  this  awakening  ?  Will  that 
force  inherent  in  the  idea  of  nationality,  which 
leads  to  the  formation  of  States,  and  which,  in 
recent  times,  has  so  wonderfully  transformed  the 
map  of  Europe,  impel  the  Jews  also  to  be  in 
earnest  with  the  hopes  of  thousands  of  years,  and 
turn  their  patient  longings  into  rapid  actions  ? 
Will  the  march  of  history  lead  them,  after  all  their 
wanderings  and  sufferings,  to  re-establish  a  definite 
centre  and  solemnly  to  complete  their  outward 
and  visible  unification  ?  On  this  point  the  Jews 
are  divided  into  two  camps.  For  the  one  party 
the  hope  of  rebuilding  the  ancient  State  is  a 
childish  and  ridiculous  enthusiast's  dream,  and 
the  desire  for  a  return  to  Sion  an  empty  lie,   for 


16  THE    FUTURE    OF   JUDAISM 

the  obliteration  of  which  from  all  forms  of  prayer 
moral  duty  calls,  if  truthfulness  before  the  Al- 
mighty is  to  be  respected ;  for  the  other  party 
these  longings  are  as  the  breath  of  Jewish  national 
life,  and  their  expression  is  a  sacred  command,  and 
an  inviolable  law.  In  spite  of  all  blustering  and 
quarrelling,  however,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied  that, 
for  the  greater  portion  of  the  Jews,  Palestine  is 
something  more  than  a  mere  geographical  notion  ; 
and  that  all  the  weaning  of  centuries,  and  all  the  en- 
lightenment of  modern  times,  have  been  unable  to 
banish  a  longing  for  that  land  from  their  hearts,  or 
to  destroy  the  memory  of  it  in  their  thoughts.  .  .  . 
The  events  of  universal  history  are  not  to  be 
estimated  either  by  the  short-sightedness  of  the 
Philistine  or  by  the  narrow-sightedness  of  the 
student.  When  the  hour  was  ripe  the  Augustine 
monk  became  the  father  of  the  Reformation.  The 
death  of  Islamism  had  been  already  proclaimed, 
when  the  Wahabees  burst  forth  from  their  moun- 
tain fastnesses,  and  flamed  through  Arabia  with  a 
religious  fervor  unknown  in  modern  times — a 
warning  and  a  lesson  to  men  not  to  class  even 
Mohammedanism  with  the  things  of  the  past. 
Has  not  the  Sick  Man  become  proverbial  ?  Have 
not  political  star-gazers  foretold  the  very  moment 
of  his  last  death-rattle  ?  A  statesman  like  Mid- 
hat  Pasha  shows  the  world  what  sort  of  forces 
can  be  set  in  motion  by  a  State  tottering  on  the 
very  verge  of  ruin.  And  Jewish  history  itself? 
The  nine  times  Wise  of  the  Babylonian  Captivity 
smiled  contemptuously  at  the  fire  of  the  prophets, 


THE    FUTURE    OF   JUDAISM  \J 

and  looked  down  with  pity  on  the  miserable 
creatures  whose  crazy  infatuation  it  was  to  rebuild 
the  temple.  But  from  the  midst  of  these  very 
sufferers  there  arose  minds  to  herald  a  new  epoch 
for  Judah,  and  to  bring  immortality  to  Judaism. 
And  even  when  the  race  again  lay  broken  on  the 
ground,  borne  down  with  meek  submissiveness  be- 
neath the  Roman  yoke,  there  blazed  forth  Bar 
Kochba,  the  Son  of  the  Star,  and  hosts  of  devoted 
warriors  sprang  from  the  earth,  compelling  Rome 
to  send  her  ablest  commander  to  coerce  them,  a 
handful  though  they  were.  Nor  did  the  inhuman 
lord  of  oppression  set  his  iron  heel  upon  the  backs  of 
the  vanquished  till  streams  of  the  blood  of  Judah's 
heroes  had  flowed  down  to  the  Mediterranean, 
and  till  treachery  had  crept  in  and  broken  their 
serried  ranks.  The  defenders  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  heroes  of  Bethar  did  not  surely  bleed  in 
vain !  from  the  leonine  uprising  of  Judea  and 
from  the  safe  and  wondrous  return  of  the  exiles 
from  the  Babylonian  Captivity,  should  not  the 
lesson  for  all  time  be  drawn,  that  the  deep-rooted 
love  and  longing  of  the  Jewish  people  for  Palestine 
is  something  more  than  a  wild  and  antiquated  ab- 
surdity, something  more  than  a  barren  dream  of 
foolish  enthusiasm  ?  Feelings  and  sentiments 
which  are  worthy  to  be  cherished  and  preserved  in 
a  nation's  soul  against  all  the  influences  of  time 
are  wont  to  concentrate  themselves  in  great  per- 
sonalities, and  to  impart  to  them  a  power  of  attrac- 
tion, before  which  moderation  and  half-heartedness 
fly  like  leaves  before  the  storm.     The  history  of 


1 8       THE  HARP  THE  MONARCH  MINSTREL  SWEPT 

Israel  presents  a  number  of  such  figures.  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  succeed  to  the  Prophets  of  the 
Captivity,  John  of  Giskala  stands  beside  Judas 
Maccabaeus,  Akiba  ben  Joseph  defends  the  Star- 
Son  of  Bethar,  and  even  through  the  darkness  of 
the  middle  ages  the  fiery  pillar  of  Jehudah  ha-Levi 
gleams  forth.  Shall  we  some  clay  be  able  to  say — 
"  and  so  on  ?  " 

DAVID    KAUFMANN 
Translation  from  the  German  by  J.  W.  Ferrier 


THE    HARP  TPIE  MONARCH    MINSTREL 

SWEPT 

The  harp  the  monarch  minstrel  swept, 
The  King  of  men,  the  loved  of  Heaven, 

Which  music  hallow'd  while  she  wept 
O'er  tones  her  heart  of  hearts  had  given, 
Redoubled  be  her  tears,  its  cords  are  riven  ! 

It  soften'd  men  of  iron  mould, 

It  gave  them  virtues  not  their  own  ; 

No  ear  so  dull,  no  soul  so  cold, 

That  felt  not,  fired  not  to  the  tone, 

Till  David's  lyre  grew  mightier  than  his  throne  ! 

It  told  the  triumphs  of  our  King, 

It  wafted  glory  to  our  God  ; 
It  made  our  gladden'd  valleys  ring, 

The  cedars  bow,  the  mountains  nod  ; 


PSALM    IV  19 

Its  sound  aspired  to  Heaven  and  there  abode  ! 
Since  then,  though  heard  on  earth  no  more, 

Devotion  and  her  daughter  Love 
Still  bid  the  bursting  spirit  soar 

To  sounds  that  seem  as  from  above, 

In  dreams  that  day's  broad  light  cannot  remove. 

LORD    BYRON 


PSALM  IV 

Answer  me  when  I  call, 

God  of  my  righteousness  ; 

In  straits  and  in  distress 
Thou  didst  me  disenthrall 

And  set  at  large  :  now  spare, 
Now  pity  me,  and  hear  my  earnest  prayer. 
Great  ones,  how  long  will  ye 

My  glory  have  in  scorn  ? 

How  long  be  thus  forborne 
Still  to  love  vanity  ? 

To  love,  to  seek,  to  prize, 
Things  false  and  vain  and  nothing  else  but  lies  ? 
Yet  know  the  Lord  hath  chose, 

Chose  to  himself  apart, 

The  good  and  meek  of  heart 
(For  whom  to  choose  he  knows)  ; 

Jehovah  from  on  high 
Will  hear  my  voice,  what  time  to  him  I  cry. 
Be  awed,  and  do  not  sin  ; 


20  THE    TWENTY-THIRD    PSALME 

Speak  to  your  hearts  alone 

Upon  your  beds,  each  one, 
And  be  at  peace  within. 

Offer  the  offerings  just 
Of  righteousness,  and  in  Jehovah  trust. 
Many  there  be  that  say 

Who  yet  will  show  us  good  ? 

Talking  like  this  world's  brood  ; 
But,  Lord,  thus  let  me  pray  ; 

On  us  lift  up  the  light, 
Lift  up  the  favor,  of  thy  count'nance  bright. 
Into  my  heart  more  joy 

And  gladness  thou  hast  put 

Than  when  a  year  of  glut 
Their  stores  doth  over-cloy, 

And  from  their  plenteous  grounds 
With  vast  increase  their  corn  and  wine  abounds. 
In  peace  at  once  will  I 

Both  lay  me  down  and  sleep  ; 

For  thou  alone  dost  keep 
Me  safe  where'er  I  lie  : 

As  in  a  rocky  cell 
Thou,  Lord  !   alone,  in  safety  mak'st  me  dwell. 

JOHN    MILTON 

4 

THE  TWENTY-THIRD  PSALME 

The  God  of  love  my  shepherd  is, 
And  he  that  doth  me  feed  : 

While  he  is  mine,  and  I  am  his, 
What  can  I  want  or  need  ? 


PSALM    XXVII  21 

* 

He  leads  me  to  the  tender  grasse, 

Where  I  both  feed  and  rest ; 
Then  to  the  streams  that  gently  pass  : 

In  both  I  have  the  best. 

Or  if  I  stray,  he  doth  convert, 
And  bring  my  minde  in  frame  : 

And  all  this  not  for  my  desert 
But  for  his  holy  name. 

Yea,  in  death's  shadie  black  abode 

Well  may  I  walk,  not  fear  : 
For  thou  art  with  me,  and  thy  rod 

To  guide,  thy  staff  e  to  bear. 

Nay,  thou  dost  make  me  sit  and  dine, 

Ev 'n  in  my  enemies'  sight  : 
My  head  with  oyl,  my  cup  with  wine 

Runnes  over  day  and  night. 

Surely  thy  sweet  and  wondrous  love 

Shall  measure  all  my  dayes  ; 
And  as  it  never  shall  remove 

So  neither  shall  my  praise. 

GEORGE  HERBERT 


5 

PSALM  XXVII 

God  is  my  strong  salvation, 
What  foe  have  I  to  fear  ? 

In  darkness  and  temptation, 
My  light,  my  help  is  near : 


PSALM    XLII 

Though  hosts  encamp  around  me, 

Firm  to  the  fight  I  stand  ; 
What  terror  can  confound  me, 

With  God  at  my  right  hand  ? 

Place  on  the  Lord  reliance, 

My  soul,  with  courage  wait ; 
His  truth  be  thine  affiance, 

When  faint  and  desolate  : 

His  might  thine  heart  shall  strengthen, 

His  love  thy  joy  increase  ; 
Mercy  thy  clays  shall  lengthen  ; 

The  Lord  will  give  thee  peace. 

JAMES    MONTGOMERY 


PSALM  XLII 

Plearken,  Lord,  to  my  complaints, 

For  my  soul  within  me  faints  ; 

Thee,  far  off,  I  call  to  mind, 

In  the  land  I  left  behind, 

Where  the  streams  of  Jordan  flow, 

Where  the  heights  of  Hermon  glow. 

Tempest-tost,  my  failing  bark 
Founders  on  the  ocean  dark  ; 
Deep  to  deep  around  me  calls, 
With  the  rush  of  water-falls  ; 
While  I  plunge  to  lower  caves, 
Overwhelmed  by  all  thy  waves. 


PSALM   LXXX  23 

Once  the  morning's  earliest  light 
Brought  thy  mercy  to  my  sight, 
And  my  wakeful  song  was  heard 
Later  than  the  evening  bird  ; 
I  last  thou  all  my  prayers  forgot  ? 
Dost  thou  scorn,  or  hear  them  not  ? 

Why,  my  soul,  art  thou  perplex'd  ? 
Why  with  faithless  trouble  vex'd  ? 
Hope  in  God,  whose  saving  name 
Thou  shalt  joyfully  proclaim, 
When  his  countenance  shall  shine 
Through  the  clouds  that  darken  thine. 

JAMES    MONTGOMERY 


PSALM  LXXX 

Give  ear,  O  Shepherd  of  Israel, 

Thou  that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock  ; 

Thou  that  sittest  upon  the  cherubim,  shine  forth. 

Before  Ephraim  and  Benjamin  and  Manasseh,  stir 

up  thy  might, 
And  come  to  save  us. 
Turn  us  again,  O  God  ; 
And  cause  thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved. 

O  Lord  God  of  hosts, 

How  long  wilt  thou  be  angry  against  the  prayer  of 

thy  people  ? 
Thou  hast  fed  them  with  the  bread  of  tears, 
And  given  them  tears  to  drink  in  large  measure 


24  PSALM    LXXX 

Thou  makest  us  a  strife  unto  our  neighbors  : 

And  our  enemies  laugh  among  themselves. 

Turn  us  again,  O  God  of  hosts  ; 

And  cause  thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved. 

Thou  broughtest  a  vine  out  of  Egypt  : 

Thou  didst  drive  out  the  nations,  and  plantedst  it. 

Thou  preparedst  room  before  it, 

And  it  took  deep  root,  and  filled  the  land. 

The  mountains  were  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it, 

And  the  boughs  thereof  were  like  cedars  of  God. 

She  sent  out  her  branches  unto  the  sea, 

And  her  shoots  unto  the  River. 

Why  hast  thou  broken  down  her  fences, 

So  that  all  they  which  pass  by  the  way  do  pluck 

her  ? 
The  boar  out  of  the  wood  doth  ravage  it, 
And  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  feed  on  it. 
Turn  again,  we  beseech  thee,  O  God  of  hosts  : 
Look  down  from  heaven,  and  behold,  and  visit  this 

vine, 
And  the  stock  which  thy  right  hand  hath  planted, 
And  the  branch  that  thou  madest  strong   for  thy. 

self. 
It  is  burned  with  fire,  it  is  cut  down  : 
They  perish  at  the  rebuke  of  thy  countenance. 
Let  thy  hand  be  upon  the  man  of  thy  right  hand, 
Upon  the  son  of  man  whom    thou  madest  strong 

for  thyself. 
So  shall  we  not  go  back  from  thee  : 
Quicken  thou  us,  and  we  will  call  upon  thy  name. 
Turn  us  again,  O  Lord  God  of  hosts  : 
Cause  thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  be  saved. 

BIBLE — REVISED  VERSION 


PSALM    CXX1  25 


PSALM  CXXI 

Encompass'cl  with  ten  thousand  ills, 

Press' d  by  pursuing  foes, 
I  lift  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills, 

From  whence  salvation  flows. 

My  help  is  from  the  Lord,  who  made 

And  governs  earth  and  sky  ; 
I  look  to  his  almighty  aid, 

And  ever-watching  eye. 

He  who  my  soul  in  safety  keeps 
Shall  drive  destruction  hence  ; 

The  Lord  thy  keeper  never  sleeps  ; 
The  Lord  is  thy  defence. 

The  sun,  with  his  afflictive  light, 

Shall  harm  thee  not  by  clay  ; 
Nor  thee  the  moon  molest  by  night 

Along  thy  tranquil  way. 

Thee  shall  the  Lord  preserve  from  sin, 

And  comfort  in  distress  ; 
Thy  going  out  and  coming  in, 

The  Lord  thy  God  shall  bless. 

JAMES    MONTGOMERY 


26  SONG    OF    REBECCA    THE    JEWESS 


SONG  OF  REBECCA  THE  JEWESS 

(From  Ivanhoe) 

When  Israel,  of  the  Lord  beloved, 

Out  from  the  land  of  bondage  came, 
Her  fathers'  God  before  her  moved, 

An  awful  guide  in  smoke  and  flame. 
By  day,  along  the  astonish'd  lands 

The  cloudy  pillar  glided  slow  ; 
By  night,  Arabia's  crimson'd  sands 

Return'd  the  fiery  column's  glow. 

There  rose  the  choral  hymn  of  praise, 

And  trump  and  timbrel  answer'd  keen, 
And  Zion's  daughters  pour'd  their  lays, 

With  priest's  and  warrior's  voice  between. 
No  portents  now  our  foes  amaze, 

Forsaken  Israel  wanders  lone  : 
Our  fathers  would  not  know  Thy  ways, 

And  Thou  hast  left  them  to  their  own. 

But,  present  still,  though  now  unseen  ; 

When  brightly  shines  the  prosperous  day, 
Be  thoughts  of   Thee  a  cloudy  screen 

To  temper  the  deceitful  ray. 
And  oh,  when  stoops  on  Judah's  path 

In  shade  and  storm  the  frequent  night, 
Be  Thou,  long-suffering,  slow  to  wrath, 

A  burning,  and  a  shining  light. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    NATURE  2J 

Our  harps  we  left  by  Babel's  streams, 

The  tyrant's  jest,  the  Gentile's  scorn  : 
No  censer  round  our  altar  beams, 

And  mute  are  timbrel,  trump,  and  horn. 
But  Thou  hast  said,  The  blood  of  goat, 

The  flesh  of  rams,  I  will  not  prize  ; 
A  contrite  heart,  an  humble  thought, 

Are  mine  accepted  sacrifice. 

SIR    WALTER    SCOTT 


10 


DESCRIPTION  OF  NATURE  IN  THE 
HEBREW  WRITERS 

(From  Cosmos) 

It  is  a  characteristic  of  the  poetry  of  the  He- 
brews, that,  as  a  reflex  of  monotheism,  it  always 
embraces  the  universe  in  its  unity,  comprising  both 
terrestrial  life  and  the  luminous  realms  of  space. 
It  dwells  but  rarely  on  the  individuality  of  phe- 
nomena, preferring  the  contemplation  of  great 
masses.  The  Hebrew  poet  does  not  depict  nature 
as  a  self-dependent  object,  glorious  in  its  individual 
beauty,  but  always  as  in  relation  and  subjection  to 
a  higher  spiritual  power.  Nature  is  to  him  a  work 
of  creation  and  order,  the  living  expression  of  the 
omnipresence  of  the  Divinity  in  the  visible  world. 
Hence  the  lyrical  poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  from  the 
very  nature  of  its  subject,  is  grand  and  solemn, 
and  when  it  treats  of  the  earthly  condition  of  man- 


28  DESCRIPTION    OF    NATURE 

kind,  is  full  of  sad  and  pensive  longing.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  Hebrew  poetry,  notwith- 
standing its  grandeur,  and  the  lofty  tone  of  exalta- 
tion to  which  it  is  often  elevated  by  the  charm  of 
music,  scarcely  ever  loses  the  restraint  of  measure, 
as  does  the  poetry  of  India.  Devoted  to  the  pure 
contemplation  of  the  Divinity,  it  remains  clear  and 
single  in  the  midst  of  the  most  figurative  forms  of 
expression,  delighting  in  comparisons  which  recur 
with  almost  rhythmical  regularity. 

As  descriptions  of  nature,  the  writings  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  a  faithful  reflection  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  country  in  which  they  were  composed, 
of  the  alternations  of  barrenness  and  fruitfulness, 
and  of  the  Alpine  forests  by  which  the  land  of  Pal- 
estine was  characterized.  They  describe  in  their 
regular  succession  the  relations  of  the  climate,  the 
manners  of  this  people  of  herdsmen,  and  their 
hereditary  aversion  to  agricultural  pursuits.  The 
epic  or  historical  narratives  are  marked  by  a  grace- 
ful simplicity,  almost  more  unadorned  than  those 
of  Herodotus,  and  most  true  to  nature  ;  a  point  on 
which  the  unanimous  testimony  of  modern  travel- 
lers may  be  received  as  conclusive,  owing  to  the 
inconsiderable  changes  effected  in  the  course  of 
ages  in  the  manners  and  habits  of  a  nomadic  peo- 
ple. Their  lyrical  poetry  is  more  adorned,  and 
develops  a  rich  and  animated  conception  of  the  life 
of  nature. 

It  might  almost  be  said  that  one  single  psalm 
(the  104th)  represents  the  image  of  the  whole 
cosmos : 


I) INSCRIPTION    OF    NATURE  2Q 

"Who  coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment;  who 
stretchest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain  : 

Who  layeth  the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters :  who 
maketh  the  clouds  his  chariot ;  who  walketh  upon  the  wings 
of  the  wind : 

Who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be 
removed  forever. 

He  sendeth  the  springs  into  the  valleys,  which  run  among 
the  hills. 

They  give  drink  to  every  beast  of  the  field:  the  wild  asses 
quench  their  thirst. 

By  them  shall  the  fowls  of  the  heaven  have  their  habita- 
tion, which  sing  among  the  branches. 

He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for 
the  service  of  man  :  that  he  may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the 
earth ; 

And  wine  that  maketh  glad  the  heart  of  man,  and  oil  to 
make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  which  strengthened  man's 
heart. 

The  trees  of  the  Lord  are  full  of  sap ;  the  cedars  of  Leba- 
non which  he  hath  planted ; 

Where  the  birds  make  their  nests:  as  for  the  stork,  the  fir- 
trees  are  her  house." 

"  The  great  and  wide  sea "  is  then  described, 
"wherein  are  things  creeping  innumerable,  both 
small  and  great  beasts.  There  go  the  ships  :  there 
is  that  leviathan,  whom  thou  hast  made  to  play- 
therein." 

The  description  of  the  heavenly  bodies  renders 
this  picture  of  nature  complete  : 

"He  appointed  the  moon  for  seasons:  the  sun  knoweth 
his  going  down. 

Thou  makest  darkness,  and  it  is  night;  wherein  all  the 
beasts  of  the  forest  do  creep  forth. 

The  young  lions  roar  after  their  prey,  and  seek  their  meat 
from  God 


30  DESCRIPTION    OF    NATURE 

The  sun  ariseth,  they  gather  themselves  together,  and  lay 
them  down  in  their  dens. 

Man  goeth  forth  unto  his  work  and  to  his  labor  until  the 
evening." 

We  are  astonished  to  find,  in  a  lyrical  poem  of 
such  a  limited  compass,  the  whole  universe — the 
heavens  and  the  earth — sketched  with  a  few  bold 
touches.  The  calm  and  toilsome  labor  of  man, 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  setting  of  the 
same,  when  his  daily  work  is  done,  is  here  con- 
trasted with  the  moving  life  of  the  elements  of 
nature.  This  contrast  and  generalization  in  the 
conception  of  the  mutual  action  of  natural  phe- 
nomena, and  this  retrospection  of  an  omnipresent 
invisible  power,  which  can  renew  the  earth  or 
crumble  it  to  dust,  constitute  a  solemn  and  exalted 
rather  than  a  glowing  and  gentle  form  of  poetic 
creation 

The  Book  of  Job  is  generally  regarded  as  the 
most  perfect  specimen  of  the  poetry  of  the  Hebrews. 
It  is  alike  picturesque  in  the  delineation  of  indi- 
vidual phenomena,  and  artistically  skilful  in  the 
didactic  arrangement  of  the  whole  work.  In  all 
the  modern  languages  into  which  the  Book  of  Job 
has  been  translated,  its  images,  drawn  from  the 
natural  scenery  of  the  East,  leave  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  the  mind. 

"The  Lord  walketh  on  the  heights  of  the  waters,  on  the 
ridges  of  the  waves  towering  high  beneath  the  force  of  the 
wind." 

"The  morning  red  has  colored  the  margins  of  the  earth, 
and  variously  formed  the  covering  of  clouds,  as  the  hand  of 
man  moulds  the  yielding  clay." 


THOU    ART,    ()    GOD  3 1 

The  habits  of  animals  arc  described,  as,  for  in- 
stance, those  of  the  wild  ass,  the  horse,  the  buffalo, 
the  rhinoceros,  and  the  crocodile,  the  eagle,  and  the 
ostrich.  We  see  "the  pure  ether  spread,  during 
the  scorching  heat  of  the  south  wind,  as  a  melted 
mirror  over  the  parched  desert." 

ALEXANDER  VON  HUMBOLDT 
Translation  from  the  German  by  E.  C  Otte 


I  I 


THOU  ART,  O  GOD 

The  day  is  thine;  the  night  also  is  thine;  thou  hast  pre- 
pared the  light  and  the  sun.  Thou  hast  set  all  the  borders 
of  the  earth;  thou  hast  made  summer  and  winter.— Psalm 
lxxiv.  16,  17. 

Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light 
Of  all  this  wondrous  world  we  see; 

Its  glow  by  day,  its  smile  by  night, 
Are  but  reflections  caught  from  thee. 

Where'er  we  turn,  thy  glories  shine, 

And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  thine. 

When  day,  with  farewell  beam,  delays 
Among  the  opening  clouds  of  even, 

And  we  can  almost  think  we  graze 
Through  golden  vistas  into  heaven — 

Those  hues,  that  make  the  sun's  decline 
So  soft,  so  radiant,  Lord  !  are  thine. 


2)2  THE    SPACIOUS    FIRMAMENT 

When  night,  with  wings  of  starry  gloom, 
O'ershadows  all  the  earth  and  skies, 

Like  some  dark,  beauteous  bird,  whose  plume 
Is  sparkling  with  unnumbered  eyes— 

That  sacred  gloom,  those  fires  divine, 
So  grand,  so  countless,  Lord  !  are  thine. 

When  youthful  spring  around  us  breathes, 
Thy  spirit  warms  her  fragrant  sigh ; 

And  every  flower  the  summer  wreathes 
Is  born  beneath  that  kindling  eye. 

Where'er  we  turn  thy  glories  shine, 

And  all  things  fair  and  bright  are  thine. 

THOMAS    MOORE 


12 

THE   SPACIOUS   FIRMAMENT    ON    HIGH 

The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  Heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim. 
Th'  unwearied  sun  from  day  to  day 
Does  his  Creator's  power  display, 
And  publishes  to  every  land 
The  work  of  an  almighty  hand. 

Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail, 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  tale  ; 
And  nightly,  to  the  list'ning  earth, 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth  : 


SONG    OK    THE    STARS  33 

Whilst  all  the  stars  that  round  her  burn, 
And  all  the  planets,  in  their  turn, 
Confirm  the  tidings  as  they  roll, 
And  spread  the  truth  from  pole  to  pole. 

What  though  in  solemn  silence,  all 
Move  round  the  dark  terrestrial  ball  ? 
What  though,  nor  real  voice  nor  sound 
Amid  their  radiant  orbs  be  found  ? 
In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice, 
Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
"The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine." 

JOSEPH    ADDISON 


13 

SONG  OF  THE  STARS 

When  the  radiant  morn  of  creation  broke, 
And  the  world  in  the  smile  of  God  awoke, 
And  the  empty  realms  of  darkness  and  death 
Were  moved  through  their  depths  by  his  mighty 

breath, 
And  orbs  of  beauty  and  spheres  of  flame 
From  the  void  abyss  by  myriads  came — 
In  the  joy  of  youth  as  they  darted  away, 
Through  the  widening  wastes  of  space  to  play, 
Their  silver  voices  in  chorus  rang, 
And  this  was  the  song  the  bright  ones  sang : 


34  SONG   OF   THE    STARS 

"Away,  away,  through  the  wide,  wide  sky, 
The  fair  blue  fields  that  before  us  lie — 
Each  sun  with  the  worlds  that  round  him  roll, 
Each  planet,  poised  on  her  turning  pole ; 
With  her  isles  of  green,  and  her  clouds  of  white, 
And  her  waters  that  lie  like  fluid  light. 

"  For  the  source  of  glory  uncovers  his  face, 
And  the  brightness  o'erflows  unbounded  space, 
And  we  drink  as  we  go  to  the  luminous  tides 
In  our  ruddy  air  and  our  blooming  sides: 
Lo,  yonder  the  living  splendors  play  ; 
Away,  on  our  joyous  path,  away  ! 

"  Look,  look,  through  our  glittering  ranks  afar, 
In  the  infinite  azure,  star  after  star, 
How  they  brighten  and  bloom  as  they  swiftly  pass ! 
How  the  verdure  runs  o'er  each  rolling  mass ! 
And  the  path  of  the  gentle  winds  is  seen, 
Where  the  small  waves  dance,  and  the  young  woods 
lean. 

"  And  sec,  where  the  brighter  day-beams  pour, 
How  the  rainbows  hang  in  the  sunny  shower; 
And  the  morn  and  eve,  with  their  pomp  of  hues, 
Shift  o'er  the  bright  planets  and  shed  their  dews; 
And  'twixt  them  both,  o'er  the  teeming  ground, 
With  her  shadowy  cone  the  night  goes  round ! 

"Away,  away  !  in  our  blossoming  bowers, 
In  the  soft  airs  wrapping  these  spheres  of  ours, 
In  the  seas  and  fountains  that  shine  with  the  morn. 
See,  Love  is  brooding,  and  Life  is  born, 


VIEW    OF    PARADISE  35 

And  breathing  myriads  are  breaking  from  night, 
To  rejoice  like  us,  in  motion  and  light. 

"Glide  on  in  your  beauty,  ye  youthful  spheres, 

To  weave  the  dance  that  measures  the  years ; 

Glide  on,  in  the  glory  and  gladness  sent, 

To  the  furthest  wall  of  the  firmament— 

The  boundless  visible  smile  of  Him 

To  the  veil  of  whose  brow  your  lamps  are  dim." 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT 


14 

VIEW  OF  PARADISE 

(From  Paradise  Lost) 

.     .     .     In  this  pleasant  soil 
His  far  more  pleasant  garden  God  ordained. 
Out  of  the  fertile  ground  he  caused  to  grow 
All  trees  of  noblest  kind  for  sight,  smell,  taste; 
And  all  amid  them  stood  the  Tree  of  Life, 
High  eminent,  blooming  ambrosial  fruit 
Of  vegetable  gold  ;  and  next  to  life, 
Our  death,  the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  grew  fast  by — 
Knowledge  of  good,  bought  dear  by  knowing  ill. 
Southward  through  Eden  went  a  river  large, 
Nor  changed  his  course,  but  through  the  shaggy  hill 
Passed  underneath  ingulfed ;  for  God  had  thrown 
That  mountain  as  his  garden-mould,  high  raised 
Upon  the  rapid  current,  which,  through  veins 
Of  porous  earth  with  kindly  thirst  up-drawn, 


$6  VIEW    OF    PARADISE 

Rose  a  fresh  fountain,  and  with  many  a  rill 
Watered  the  garden  ;  thence  united  fell 
Down  the  steep  glade,  and  met  the  nether  flood, 
Which  from  his  darksome  passage  now  appears, 
And  now,  divided  into  four  main  streams, 
Runs  diverse,  wandering  many  a  famous  realm 
And  country,  whereof  here  needs  no  account, 
But  rather  to  tell  how,  if  Art  could  tell 
How,  from  that  sapphire  fount  the  crisped  brooks, 
Rolling  on  orient  pearl  and  sands  of  gold, 
With  mazy  error  under  pendent  shades 
Ran  nectar,  visiting  each  plant,  and  fed 
Flowers  worthy  of  Paradise,  which  not  nice  Art 
In  beds  and  curious  knots,  but  Nature  boon 
Poured  forth  profuse  on  hill,  and  dale,  and  plain, 
Both  where  the  morning  sun  first  warmly  smote 
The  open  field,  and  where  the  unpierced  shade 
Imbrowned  the  noontide  bovvers.     Thus  was  this 

place, 
A  happy  rural  seat  of  various  view : 
Groves  whose  rich  trees  wept  odorous  gums  and 

balm  ; 
Others  whose  fruit,  burnished  with  golden  rind, 
Hung  amiable — Hesperian  fables  true, 
If  true,  here  only — and  of  delicious  taste. 
Betwixt  them  lawns,  or  level  downs,  and  flocks 
Grazing  the  tender  herb,  were  interposed, 
Or  palmy  hillock,  or  the  flowery  lap 
Of  some  irriguous  valley,  spread  her  store, 
Flowers  of  all  hue,  and  without  thorn  the  rose. 
Another  side,  umbrageous  grots  and  caves 
Of  cool  recess,  o'er  which  the  mantling  vine 


VIEW    OF    PARADISE  37 

Lays  forth  her  purple  grape,  and  gently  creeps 
Luxuriant;  meanwhile  murmuring  waters  fall 
Down  the  slope  hills,  dispersed,  or  in  a  lake, 
That  to  the  fringed  bank  with  myrtle  crowned 
1  Icr  crystal  mirror  holds,  unite  their  streams. 
The  birds  their  choir  apply;  airs,  vernal  airs, 
Breathing  the  smell  of  field  and  grove,  attune 
The  trembling  leaves,  while  universal  Pan, 
Knit  with  the  Graces  and  the  Hours  in  dance, 

Led  on  the  eternal  Spring 

Two  of  far  nobler  shape,  erect  and  tall, 
God-like  erect,  with  native  honor  clad 
In  naked  majesty,  seemed  lords  of  all, 
And  worthy  seemed ;  for  in  their  looks  divine  . 
The  image  of  their  glorious  Maker  shone, 
Truth,  wisdom,  sanctitude  severe  and  pure — ■ 
Severe,  but  in  true  filial  freedom  placed, 
Whence  true  authority  in  men  :  though  both 
Not  equal,  as  their  sex  not  equal  seemed  ; 
For  contemplation  he  and  valor  formed, 
For  softness  she  and  sweet  attractive  grace, 
He  for  God  only,  she  for  God  in  him. 

.     .     .     .     About  them  frisking  played 
All  beasts  of  the  earth,  since  wild,  and  of  all  chase 
Iu  wood  or  wilderness,  forest  or  den. 
Sporting  the  lion  ramped,  and  in  his  paw 
Dandled  the  kid;  bears,  tigers,  ounces,  pards, 
Gambolled  before  them  ;  the  unwieldy  elephant, 
To   make   them  mirth,    used   all    his    might,   and 

wreathed 
His  lithe  proboscis ;  close  the  serpent  sly. 


38  TUBAL    CAIN 

Insinuating,  wove  with  Gordian  twine 
His  braided  train,  and  of  his  fatal  guile 
Gave  proof  unheeded.     Others  on  the  grass 
Couched,  and,  now  filled  with  pasture,  gazing  sat, 
Or  bedward  ruminating. 

JOHN    MILTON 


15 


TUBAL  CAIN 

Old  Tubal  Cain  was  a  man  of  might, 

In  the  days  when  earth  was  young ; 
By  the  fierce  red  light  of  his  furnace  bright, 

The  strokes  of  his  hammer  rung  ; 
And  he  lifted  high  his  brawny  hand 

On  the  iron  glowing  clear, 
Till  the  sparks  rushed  out  in  scarlet  showers, 

As  he  fashioned  the  sword  and  spear. 
And  he  sang — "  Hurrah  for  my  handiwork! 

Hurrah  for  the  spear  and  the  sword  ! 
Hurrah  for  the  hand  that  shall  wield  them  well, 

For  he  shall  be  king  and  lord  !  " 

To  Tubal  Cain  came  many  a  one, 

As  he  wrought  by  his  roaring  fire, 
And  each  one  prayed  for  a  strong  steel  blade, 

As  the  crown  of  his  desire. 
And  he  made  them  weapons  sharp  and  strong, 

Till  they  shouted  loud  for  glee, 
And  gave  him  gifts  of  pearl  and  gold, 

And  spoils  of  the  forest  free. 


TUBAL   CAIN  39 

And  they  sang — "  Hurrah  for  Tubal  Cain 

Who  hath  given  us  strength  anew  ! 
Hurrah  for  the  smith,  hurrah  for  the  fire, 

And  hurrah  for  the  metal  true  !  " 

But  a  sudden  change  came  o'er  his  heart 

Ere  the  setting  of  the  sun  ; 
And  Tubal  Cain  was  filled  with  pain 

For  the  evil  he  had  done : 
He  saw  that  men,  with  rage  and  hate, 

Made  war  upon  their  kind, 
That  the  land  was  red  with  the  blood  they  shed, 

In  their  lust  for  carnage  blind. 
And  he  said — "  Alas  !  that  ever  I  made, 

Or  that  skill  of  mine  should  plan, 
The  spear  and  the  sword,  for  men  whose  joy 

Is  to  slay  their  fellow-man." 

And  for  many  a  day  old  Tubal  Cain 

Sat  brooding  o'er  his  woe  ; 
And  his  hand  forbore  to  smite  the  ore, 

And  his  furnace  smouldered  low. 
But  he  rose  at  last  with  a  cheerful  face, 

And  a  bright  courageous  eye, 
And  bared  his  strong  right  arm  for  work, 

While  the  quick  flames  mounted  high. 
And  he  sang — "  Hurrah  for  my  handiwork ! " 

And  the  red  sparks  lit  the  air  ; 
"  Not  alone  for  the  blade  was  the  bright  steel  made," 

And  he  fashioned  the  first  ploughshare. 

And  men,  taught  wisdom  from  the  past, 
In  friendship  joined  their  hands, 


40  AZAR    AND    ABRAHAM 

Hung  the  sword  in  the  hall,  the  spear  on  the  wall, 

And  ploughed  the  willing  lands  ; 
And  sang — "  Hurrah  for  Tubal  Cain  ! 

Our  stanch  good  friend  is  he  ; 
And  for  the  ploughshare  and  the  plough, 

To  him  our  praise  shall  be. 
But  while  oppression  lifts  its  head, 

Or  a  tyrant  would  be  lord, 
Though  we  may  thank  him  for  the  plough, 


We'll  not  forget  the  sword." 


CHARLES    MACKAV 


16 

AZAR  AND  ABRAHAM 

Azar,  of  Abraham  the  father,  spake 

Unto  his  son,  "  Come  !  and  thine  offerings  make 

Before  the  gods  whose  images  divine 

In  Nimrud's  carved  and  painted  temple  shine. 

Pay  worship  to  the  sun's  great  orb  of  gold  ; 

Adore  the  queen-moon's  silver  state  ;  behold 

Otared,  Moshtari,  Sohayl,  in  their  might, 

Those  stars  of  glory,  those  high  lords  of  light. 

These  have  we  wrought,  as  fitteth  gods  alone, 

In  bronze  and  ivory  and  chiselled  stone. 

Obey,  as  did  thy  sires,  these  powers  of  Heaven 

Which  rule  the  world,  throned  in  the  circles  seven." 

But  Abraham  said,  "  Did  they  not  see  the  sun 
Sink  and  grow  darkened,  when  the  days  were  done  ; 


ABRAHAM S    BREAD  41 

Did  not  the  moon  for  them,  too,  wax  and  wane, 
That  they  should  pay  her  worship,  false  and  vain  ? 
Lo !  all  these  stars  have  laws  to  rise  and  set — 
Otared,  Moshtari,  Sohayl — wilt  thou  yet 
Bid  me  praise  gods  who  humbly  come  and  go, 
Lights  that  a  Greater  Light  hath  kindled  ?  No  ! 
I  dare  not  bow  the  knee  to  one  of  these  ; 
My  Lord  is  He  who  (past  the  sky  man  sees) 
Waxeth  and  waneth  not,  Unchanged  of  all, 
Him  only  'God,'  Him  only  'Great,'  I  call." 

EDWIN    ARNOLD 


17 

ABRAHAM'S  BREAD 

.     .     .     .     There  had  fall'n  drought 
Upon  the  land,  and  all  the  mouths  he  fed 
Hungered  for  meal;  therefore  Al-Khalil  sent 
Messengers  unto  Egypt — to  a  Lord 
Wealthy  and  favorable,  having  store 
Of  grain  and  cattle  by  the  banks  of  Nile. 
"  Give  unto  Abraham,"  the  message  said, 
"  A  little  part  for  gold,  yet  more  for  love — 
(As  he  had  given,  if  the  strait  were  thine) 
Meal  of  the  millet,  lentil,  wheat,  and  bean, 
That  he  and  his  may  live;  for  drought  hath  come 
Upon  our  fields  and  pastures,  and  we  pine." 
Spake  the  Egyptian  lord,  "  Lo  !  now  ye  ask 
O'ermuch  of  me  for  friendliness,  and  more 
Than  gold  can  buy,  since  dearth  hath  also  come 


42 


ABRAHAM  S    RREAD 


Over  our  fields,  and  nothing  is  to  spare. 

Yet  had  it  been  to  succor  Abraham, 

And  them  that  dwell  beneath  his  tent,  the  half 

Of  all  we  hold  had  filled  your  empty  sacks. 

But  he  will  feed  people  we  wot  not  of, 

Poor  folk,  and  hungry  wanderers  of  the  waste ; 

The  which  are  naught  to  us,  who  have  of  such, 

If  there  were  surplusage.     Therefore  return  ; 

Find  food  elsewhere." 

.     .     .     .     Then  said  the  messengers 
One  to  another,  "  If  we  shall  return 
With  empty  sacks,  our  master's  name,  so  great 
For  worship  in  the  world,  will  suffer  shame, 
And  men  will  say  he  asked  and  was  denied." 
Therefore  they   filled  their   sacks  with  white  sea- 
sand 
Gathered  by  Gaza's  wave,  and  sorrowfully 
Journeyed  to  Kedar,  where  lay  Abraham, 
To  whom  full  privately  they  told  this  thing, 
Saying,    "We  filled    the    sacks    with    snow-white 

sand, 
Lest  thy  great  name  be  lessened  'mongst  the  folk, 
Seeing  us  empty-handed ;  for  the  man 
Denied  thee  corn  ;  since  thou  wouldst  give,  quoth 

he, 
To  poor  folk  and  to  wanderers  of  the  waste, 
And  there  are  hungry  mouths  enough  by  Nile." 
Then  was  the  heart  of  Abraham  sore,  because 
The  people  of  his  tribe  drew  round  to  share 
The  good  food  brought,  and  all  the  desert  trooped 
With  large-eyed  mothers  and  their  pining  babes, 
Certain  of  succor  if  the  sheikh  could  help. 


Abraham's  bread  43 

So  did  the  spirit  of  Al-Khulil  sink 

That  into  swoon  he  fell  and  lay  as  one 

Who  hath  not  life.     But  Sarai,  his  wife  — 

That  knew  not— bade  her  maidens  bring  a  sack, 

Open  its  mouth,  and  knead  some  meal  for  cakes. 

And   when    the  sack   was    opened,   there    showed 

flour, 
Fine,  three  times  bolted,  whiter  than  sea-sand; 
Which  in  the  trough  they  kneaded,  rolling  cakes, 
And  baking  them  over  the  crackling  thorns  ; 
So  that  the  savor  spread  throughout  the  camp 
Of  new  bread  smoking,  and  the  people  drew 
Closer  and  thicker,  as  ye  see  the  herds 
Throng— horn,  and   wool,  and  hoof— at  watering- 
time, 
When  after  fiery  leagues,  the  wells  are  reached. 
But  Abraham,  awaking,  smelled  the  bread : 
"Whence,"  spake  he  unto  Sarai,  "hast  thou  meal, 
Wife  of  my  bosom  ?  for  the  smell  of  bread 
Ariseth,  and  lo  !  I  see  the  cakes  are  baked." 
"  By  God  !  Who  is  the  only  One,"  she  said, 
"Whence  should  it  come  save  from  thy  friend  who 

sent, 
The  lord  of  Egypt?"  "Nay!"  quoth  Abraham, 
And  fell  upon  his  face,  low-worshipping, 
"But  this  hath  come  from  the  dear  mighty  hands 
Of  Allah— of  the  Lord  of  Egypt's  lords— 
My  'Friend,'  and  King,  and  Helper:  now  my  folk 
Shall  live  and  die  not.    Glory  be  to  God  !" 

EDWIN    ARNOLD 


44  ABKAHAM    AM)    THE    FIRE-WORSHIPPER 

IS 

ABRAHAM  AND  THE  FIRE-WOR- 
SHIPPER 

A    DRAMATIC    PARABLE 

Scene. — The  inside  of  a  tent  in  which  the  patriarch  Abra- 
ham and  a  Persian  Traveller,  a  Fire- Worshipper,  are  sit- 
ting awhile  after  supper. 

Fire-  Worshipper  [aside].     What  have  I  said,  or 
done,  that  by  degrees 
Mine  host  hath  changed  his  gracious  countenance, 
Until  he  stareth  on  me,  as  in  wrath  ! 
Have  I, 'tvvixt  wake  and  sleep,  lost  his  wise  lore? 
Or  sit  I  thus  too  long,  and  he  himself 
Would  fain  be  sleeping  ?     I  will  speak  to  that. 
{Aloud)  Impute  it,  O  my  great  and  gracious  lord, 
Unto  my  feeble  flesh,  and  not  my  folly, 
If  mine  old  eyelids  droop  against  their  will, 
And  I  become  as  one  that  hath  no  sense 
Ev'n  to  the  milk  and  honey  of  thy  words.— 
With  my  lord's  leave,  and  his  good  servant's  help, 
My  limbs  would  creep  to  bed. 

AbraJiam    [angrily   quitting  Jus   seat].     In    this 
tent,  never. 
Thou  art  a  thankless  and  an  impious  man. 

Fire-  W.  [rising   in   astonishment].    A    thankless 
and  an  impious  man  !  Oh,  sir, 
My  thanks  have  all  but  worshipp'd  thee. 

Abraham.  And  whom 

Forgotten  ?  like  the  fawning  dog  I  feed. 
From  the  foot-washing  to  the  meal,  and  now 


ABRAHAM    AND    THE    FIRE-WORSHIPPER  45 

To  this  thy  cramm'd  and  dog-like  wish  for  bed, 
I've  noted  thee;  and  never  hast  thou  breath'd 
One  syllable  of  prayer,  or  praise,  or  thanks, 
To  the  great  God  who  made  and  feedeth  all. 

Fire-  W.  Oh,  sir,  the  God  I  worship  is  the  Fire, 
The  god  of  gods  ;  and  seeing  him  not  here, 
In  any  symbol,  or  on  any  shrine, 
I  waited  till  he  bless'd  mine  eyes  at  morn, 
Sitting  in  heaven. 

Abraham.  Oh,  foul  idolater  ! 

And  dare'st  thou  still  to  breathe  in  Abraham's  tent  ? 
Forth  with  thee,  wretch  :  for  he  that  made  thy  god, 
And  all  thy  tribe,  and  all  the  hosts  of  heaven, 
The  invisible  and  only  dreadful  God, 
Will  speak  to  thee  this  night,  out  in  the  storm, 
And  try  thee  in  thy  foolish  god,  the  fire, 
Which  with  his  fingers  he  makes  lightnings  of. 
Hark  to  the  rising  of  his  robes,  the  winds, 
And  get  thee  forth,  and  wait  him. 

[A  violent  storm  is  heard  rising.] 

Firc-W.  What  !  unhous'd  ! 

And  on  a  night  like  this  !  me,  poor  old  man, 
A  hundred  years  of  age  ! 

Abraham  [urging  him  away].   Not  reverencing 
The  God  of  ages,  thou  revoltest  reverence. 

Fire-  W.  Thou  had'st  a  father :— think  of  his  gray 
hairs, 
Houseless,  and  cuff'd  by  such  a  storm  as  this. 

Abraham.  God  is  thy  father  and  thou  own'st  not 
him. 

Fire-  W.  I  have  a  wife,  as  aged  as  myself, 
And  if  she  learn  my  death,  she'll  not  survive  it, 


46  ABRAHAM    AND    THE    FIRE-WORSHIPPER 

No,  not  a  clay  ;  she  is  so  used  to  me  : 
So  propp'd  up  by  her  other  feeble  self. 
I  pray  thee,  strike  not  both  down. 

Abraham  [still urging  hiiri\.  God  made 

Husband  and  wife,  and  must  be  own'd  of  them, 
Else  he  must  needs  disown  them. 

Fire-  W.  We  have  children, 

One  of  them,  sir,  a  daughter,  who,  next  week, 
Will  all  day  long  be  going  in  and  out, 
Upon  the  watch  for  me  ;  she  too,  a  wife, 
And  will  be  soon  a  mother.     Spare,  O  spare  her  ! 
She's  a  good  creature,  and  not  strong. 

Abraham.  Mine  ears 

Are  deaf  to  all  things  but  thy  blasphemy, 
And  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord  and  God, 
Who  will  this  night  condemn  thee. 
[Abraham    pushes   him    out ;    and    remains    alone 
speakingi] 

For  if  ever 
God  came  at  night-time  forth  upon  the  world, 
'Tis  now  this  instant.     Hark  to  the  huge  winds, 
The  cataracts  of  hail,  and  rocky  thunder, 
Splitting  like  quarries  of  the  stony  clouds, 
Beneath  the  touching  of  the  foot  of  God. 
That  was  God's  speaking  in  the  heavens, — that  last 
And  inward  utterance  coming  by  itself. 
What  is  it  shaketh  thus  thy  servant,  Lord, 
Making  him  fear,  that  in  some  loud  rebuke 
To  this  idolater,  whom  thou  abhorrest, 
Terror  will  slay  himself  ?     Lo,  the  earth  quakes 
Beneath  my  feet,  and  God  is  surely  hero. 

[A  dead  silence  ;  then  a  still  small voice. ,] 


ABRAHAM   AND    THE    FIRE-WORSHIPPER  47 

The  Voice.     Abraham ! 

Abraham.   Where  art  thou,  Lord  ?  and  who  is  it 
that  speaks 
So  sweetly  in  mine  ear,  to  bid  me  turn 
And  dare  to  face  thy  presence  ? 

The  Voice.  Who  but  He 

Whose  mightiest  utterance  thou  hast  yet  to  learn  ? 
I  was  not  in  the  whirlwind,  Abraham  ; 
I  was  not  in  the  thunder,  or  the  earthquake  ; 
But  I  am  in  the  still  small  voice. 
Where  is  the  stranger  whom  thou  tookest  in  ? 
Abraham.  Lord,  he  denied  thee,  and  I  drove  him 

forth. 
The  Voice.  Then  didst  thou  do  what  God  him- 
self forbore. 
Have  I,  although  he  did  deny  me,  borne 
With  his  injuriousness  these  hundred  years, 
And  could'st  thou  not  endure  him  one  sole  night, 
And  such  a  night  as  this  ? 

Abraham.  Lord  !  I  have  sinn'd 

And  will  go  forth,  and  if  he  be  not  dead, 
Will  call  him  back,  and  tell  him  of  thy  mercies 
Both  to  himself,  and  me. 

The  Voice.  Behold,  and  learn  ! 

[The  Voice  retires  while  it  is  speaking  ;  and  a  fold 
of  the  tent  is  turned  back  disclosing  the  Fin- 
Worshipper,  who  is  calmly   sleeping,  with  his 
head  on  the  back  of  a  house-Iambi] 
Abraham.  O  loving  God  !    the  lamb  itself's  his 
pillow, 
And  on  his  forehead  is  a  balmy  dew, 
And  in  his  sleep  he  smileth.     I,  meantime, 


48  THE    CITIES    OF    THE    PLAIN 

Poor  and  proud  fool,  with  my  presumptuous  hands, 
Not  God's,  was  dealing  judgments  on  his  head, 
Which  God  himself  had  cradled  ! — Oh,  methinks 
There's  more  in  this  than  prophet  yet  hath  known, 
And  Faith,  some  day,  will  all  in  Love  be  shown. 

LEIGH    HUNT 


19 

THE  CITIES  OF  THE  PLAIN 

"  Get  ye  up  from  the  wrath  of  God's  terrible  day  ! 
Ungirded,  unsandalled,  arise  and  away ! 
'Tis  the  vintage  of  blood,  'tis  the  fulness  of  time, 
And  vengeance  shall  gather  the  harvest  of  crime!" 

The  warning  was  spoken — the  righteous  had  gone, 
And  the  proud  ones  of  Sodom  were  feasting  alone; 
All  gay  was  the  banquet — the  revel  was  long, 
With  the  pouring  of  wine  and  the  breathing  of  song. 

'  Twas  an  evening  of  beauty  ;  the  air  was  perfume, 
The  earth   was  all  greenness,   the  trees  were   all 

bloom  ; 
And  softly  the  delicate  viol  was  heard, 
Like  the  murmur  of  love  or  the  notes  of  a  bird. 

And  beautiful  maidens  moved  down  in  the  dance, 
With  the  magic  of  motion  and  sunshine  of  glance  ; 
And  white  arms  wreathed  lightly,  and  tresses  fell 

free, 
As  the  plumage  of  birds  in  some  tropical  tree. 


THE    CITIES    OF    THE    PLAIN  49 

Where  the  shrines  of  foul  idols  were  lighted  on 

high, 
And  wantonness  tempted  the  lust  of  the  eye ; 
'Midst  rites  of   obsceneness,    strange,  loathsome, 

abhorred, 
The  blasphemer  scoffed  at  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Hark !  the  growl  of  the  thunder, — the  quaking  of 

earth ! 
Woe,  woe  to  the  worship,  and  woe  to  the  mirth ! 
The  black  sky  has  opened  ;  there's  flame  in  the  air; 
The  red  arm  of  vengeance  is  lifted  and  bare ! 

Then  the  shriek  of  the  dying  rose  wild  where  the 

song 
And  the  low  tone  of  love  had  been  whispered  along ; 
For  the  fierce  flames  went  lightly  o'er  palace  and 

bower, 
Like  the  red  tongues  of  demons,  to  blast  and  devour. 

Down,  down  on  the  fallen  the  red  ruin  rained, 
And  the  reveller  sank  with  his  wine-cup  undrained ; 
The  foot  of  the  dancer,  the  music's  loved  thrill, 
And  the  shout  and  the  laughter  grew  suddenly  still. 

The  last  throb  of  anguish  was  fearfully  given ; 
The  last  eye  glared  forth  in  its  madness  on  Heaven ! 
The  last  groan  of  horror  rose  wildly  and  vain, 
And  death  brooded  over  the  pride  of  the  Plain. 

JOHN    GREENLEAF    WIIITTIER 


50  BENJAMIN    ACCOMPANIES    HIS    BRETHREN 


20 

BENJAMIN   ACCOMPANIES    HIS 
BRETHREN  TO  EGYPT 

Genesis  xliii.  1-31;   xliv.   1-17. 

And  the  famine  was  sore  in  the  land. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  had  completely 
eaten  up  the  provisions  which  they  had  brought  out 
of  Egypt,  that  their  father  said  unto  them,  Go 
again,  buy  us  a  little  food. 

And  Judah  said  unto  him,  thus,  The  man  did 
solemnly  protest  unto  us,  saying,  Ye  shall  not  see 
my  face  except  your  brother  be  with  you. 

If  thou  wilt  send  our  brother  with  us,  we  will  go 
down  and  buy  thee  food  ; 

But  if  thou  sendest  him  not,  we  will  not  go  down; 
for  the  man  said  unto  us,  Ye  shall  not  see  my  face 
except  your  brother  be  with  you. 

And  Israel  said,  Wherefore  have  ye  dealt  so  ill 
with  me,  as  to  tell  the  man  that  ye  have  yet  another 
brother  ? 

And  they  said,  The  man  inquired  particularly 
concerning  us,  and  our  kindred,  saying,  Is  your 
father  yet  alive  ?  have  ye  another  brother  ?  and  we 
told  him  according  to  the  tenor  of  these  words: 
could  we  possibly  know  that  he  would  say,  Bring 
down  your  brother  ? 

And  Judah  said  unto  Israel  his  father,  Send  the 
lad  with  me,  and  we  will  arise  and  go  ;  that  we  may 
live,  and  not  die,  both  we,  and  thou,  as  also  our 
little  ones. 


BENJAMIN    ACCOMPANIES    HIS    BRETHREN  5 1 

I  will  be  surety  for  him ;  from  my  hand  shalt  thou 
require  him:  if  I  bring  him  not  unto  thee,ancl  set  him 
before  thee,  then  shall  I  have  sinned  against  thee 
all  the  days. 

For,  if  we  had  not  lingered,  surely  we  had  now 
returned  the  second  time. 

And  their  father  Israel  said  unto  them,  If  it 
must  be  so  now,  do  this  :  take  of  the  best  products 
of  the  land  in  your  vessels,  and  carry  down  to  the 
man  a  present,  a  little  balm,  and  a  little  honey, 
spices,  and  lotus,  pistachio-nuts,  and  almonds. 

And  twofold  money  take  in  your  hand  ;  and  the 
money  that  was  put  back  in  the  mouth  of  your 
sacks,  you  must  carry  back  in  your  hand;  peradven- 
ture  it  was  an  oversight; 

Also  your  brother  take  along,  and  arise,  go  again 
unto  the  man. 

And  may  God  the  Almighty  give  you  mercy 
before  the  man,. that  he  may  send  away  to  you  your 
other  brother,  and  Benjamin.  And  I,  if  I  am  to  be 
bereaved,  let  me  be  bereaved. 

And  the  men  took  that  present ;  and  twofold 
money  they  took  in  their  hand,  as  also  Benjamin; 
and  they  rose  up,  and  went  down  to  Egypt,  and 
stood  before  Joseph. 

And  when  Joseph  saw  Benjamin  with  them,  he 
said  to  the  superintendent  of  his  house,  Bring  these 
men  into  the  house,  and  slay,  and  make  ready ; 
for  with  me  shall  these  men  dine  at  noon. 

And  the  man  did  as  Joseph  had  said  ;  and  the 
man  brought  the  men  into  Joseph's  house. 

And  the  men   were  afraid,   because   they   were 


52  BENJAMIN    ACCOMPANIES    HIS    BRETHREN 

brought  into  Joseph's  house :  and  they  said,  Because 
of  the  money  that  came  back  in  our  sacks  at  the 
first  time  are  we  brought  in;  that  he  may  seek 
occasion  against  us,  and  take  us  for  bondmen,  to- 
gether with  our  asses. 

And  they  came  near  to  the  man  who  was 
appointed  over  Joseph's  house,  and  they  spoke  with 
him  at  the  door  of  the  house, 

And  they  said,  Pardon,  my  lord,  we  came  down 
at  the  first  time  to  buy  food  : 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  we  came  to  the  inn, 
that  we  opened  our  sacks,  and,  behold,  every  man's 
money  was  in  the  mouth  of  his  sack,  our  money  in 
its  full  weight ;  and  we  have  brought  it  back  in  our 
hand. 

And  other  money  have  we  brought  down  in  our 
hand  to  buy  food  ;  we  know  not  who  hath  put  our 
money  in  our  sacks. 

And  he  said,  Peace  be  to  you,  fear  not  ;  your 
God,  and  the  God  of  your  father,  hath  given  you  a 
treasure  in  your  sacks  ;  your  money  hath  come  to 
me.     And  he  brought  Simeon  out  unto  them. 

And  the  man  brought  the  men  into  Joseph's 
house  ;  and  he  gave  them  water,  and  they  washed 
their  feet,  and  he  gave  provender  to  their  asses. 

And  they  made  ready  the  present  before  Joseph 
came  home  at  noon  ;  for  they  had  heard  that  they 
should  eat  bread  there. 

And  when  Joseph  came  home,  they  brought  him 
the  present  which  was  in  their  hand  into  the  house, 
and  bowed  themselves  to  him  to  the  earth. 

And  he  asked  them  after  their  welfare,  and  .said, 


BENJAMIN    ACCOMPANIES   HIS    BRETHREN         53 

Is  your  old  father  well,  of  whom  ye  spoke  ?  Is  he 
yet  alive  ? 

And  they  answered,  Thy  servant,  our  father,  is 
in  good  health,  he  is  yet  alive.  And  they  bowed 
down  their  heads,  and  prostrated  themselves. 

And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  his  brother 
Benjamin,  his  mother's  son,  and  said,  Is  this  your 
youngest  brother  of  whom  ye  spoke  unto  me? 
And  he  said,  God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my  son. 

And  Joseph  hastened  away,  for  his  affection  to- 
ward his  brother  became  enkindled,  and  he  sought 
to  weep;  and  he  entered  into  his  chamber,  and 
wept  there. 

And  he  washed  his  face,  and  came  out,  and  re- 
frained himself,  and  said,  Set  on  the  bread. 

And  he  commanded  the  superintendent  of  his 
house,  saying,  Fill  the  sacks  of  these  men  with 
food,  as  much  as  they  can  carry,  and  put  every 
man's  money  in  the  mouth  of  his  sack. 

And  my  cup,  the  silver  cup,  thou  shalt  put  in 
the  mouth  of  the  sack  of  the  youngest,  and  the 
money  for  his  corn.  And  he  did  according  to  the 
word  of  Joseph  which  he  had  spoken. 

As  soon  as  the  morning  was  light,  the  men  were 
sent  away,  they  and  their  asses. 

They  were  gone  out  of  the  city,  not  yet  far  off, 
when  Joseph  said  unto  the  superintendent  of  his 
house,  Up,  follow  after  the  men ;  and  when  thou 
hast  overtaken  them,  say  unto  them,  Wherefore 
have  ye  returned  evil  for  good  ? 

Is  not  this  out  of  which  my  lord  drinketh,  and 


54  BENJAMIN    ACCOMPANIES    HIS    BRETHREN 

whereby  he   divineth  ?    ye  have  done  evil   in   so 
doing. 

And  he  overtook  them,  and  he  spoke  unto  them 
these  same  words. 

And  they  said  unto  him,  Wherefore  will  my  lord 
speak  such  words  as  these  ?  God  forbid  that  thy 
servants  should  do  any  thing  like  this. 

Behold  the  money,  which  we  found  in  the  mouth 
of  our  sacks,  we  brought  back  unto  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Canaan  :  how  then  should  we  steal  out  of 
thy  lord's  house  silver  or  gold  ? 

With  whomsoever  of  thy  servants  it  be  found, 
let  him  die  ;  and  we  also  will  be  bondmen  unto  my 
lord. 

And  he  said,  Now  also  let  it  be  according  to 
your  words  :  he  with  whom  it  is  found  shall  be  my 
servant  :  but  ye  shall  be  blameless. 

And  they  made  haste,  and  every  one  of  them 
took  down  his  sack  to  the  ground,  and  every  one 
opened  his  sack. 

And  he  searched,  at  the  eldest  he  began,  and  at 
the  youngest  he  left  off  ;  and  the  cup  was  found  in 
Benjamin's  sack. 

Then  they  rent  their  clothes,  and  every  one 
loaded  his  ass  and  they  returned  to  the  city. 

And  Judah  and  his  brothers  came  into  Joseph's 
house,  and  he  was  yet  there  ;  and  they  fell  down 
before  him  to  the  ground. 

And  Joseph  said  unto  them,  What  deed  is  this 
that  ye  have  done  ?  knew  ye  not  that  such  a  man 
as  I  can  certainly  divine? 

And  Judah   said,  What   shall   we   say  unto  my 


JOSEPH  AND  HIS  BRETHREN  55 

lord  ?  What  shall  we  speak  ?  or  how  shall  we  justify 
ourselves  ?  God  hath  found  out  the  iniquity  of  thy 
servants  :  behold  we  are  servants  unto  my  lord, 
both  we,  as  also  he  in  whose  hand  the  cup  was 
found. 

And  he  said,  God  forbid  that  I  should  do  this  : 
the  man  in  whose  hand  the  cup  was  found,  he  shall 
be  my  servant  ;  and  as  for  you,  go  you  up  in  peace 
unto  your  father. 

BIBLE — LEESER'S    TRANSLATION 


21 


JOSEPH  AND  HIS  BRETHREN 

Genesis  xiiv.  1S-34;  xlv.    1-3,  14-15,  17-18;  xlvi.  29-30. 

Then  Judah  came  near  unto  him,  and  said,  Par- 
don, my  lord,  let  thy  servant,  I  pray  thee,  speak  a 
word  into  my  lord's  ears,  and  let  not  thy  anger  burn 
against  thy  servant ;  for  thou  art  even  as  Pharaoh. 

My  lord  asked  his  servants,  saying,  Have  ye  a 
father,  or  a  brother  ? 

And  we  said  unto  my  lord,  We  have  an  old 
father,  and  a  little  child,  born  in  his  old  age  ;  and 
his  brother  is  dead,  and  he  alone  is  left  of  his 
mother,  and  his  father  loveth  him. 

And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  servants,  Bring  him 
down  unto  me,  that  I  may  set  my  eye  upon  him. 

And  we  said  unto  my  lord,  The  lad  cannot  leave 
his  father :  for  if  he  should  leave  his  father,  he 
would  die. 


56  JOSEPH    AND    HIS    BRETHREN 

And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  servants,  Except  your 
youngest  brother  come  down  with  you,  ye  shall  not 
see  my  face  any  more. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  we  came  up  unto  thy 
servant  my  father,  that  we  told  him  the  words  of 
my  lord. 

And  our  father  said,  Go  back,  and  buy  us  a  little 
food. 

And  we  said,  we  cannot  go  down  :  if  our  youngest 
brother  be  with  us,  then  will  we  go  down  ;  for  we 
cannot  see  the  man's  face,  except  our  youngest 
brother  be  with  us. 

And  thy  servant  my  father  said  unto  us,  Ye 
know  that  my  wife  bore  me  two  sons  ; 

And  the  one  went  out  from  me,  and  I  said, 
Surely  he  hath  been  torn  in  pieces  ;  and  I  have  not 
seen  him  up  to  this  time. 

And  if  ye  take  this  one  also  from  me,  and  mis- 
chief befall  him,  ye  will  bring  down  my  gray  hairs 
with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

And,  now,  when  I  come  to  thy  servant  my 
father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with  us ;  seeing  that  his 
life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life  ; 

It  will  come  to  pass,  that  when  he  seeth  that  the 
lad  is  not  with  us,  he  will  die  :  and  thy  servants 
would  thus  bring  down  the  gray  hairs  of  thy  ser- 
vant our  father  with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

For  thy  servant  became  surety  for  the  lad  unto 
my  father,  saying,  If  I  bring  him  not  unto  thee, 
then  shall  I  have  sinned  against  my  father  all  the 
days. 

Now  therefore,  I  pray  thee,  let  thy  servant  abide 


JOSEPH  AND  HIS  BRETHREN         57 

instead  of  the  lad  as  bondman  to  my  lord  ;  and  let 
the  lad  go  up  with  his  brothers. 

For  how  shall  I  go  up  to  my  father,  and  the  lad 
be  not  with  me  ?  I  should  perhaps  be  compelled 
to  witness  the  evil  which  would  come  on  my 
father. 

Then  could  Joseph  not  restrain  himself  before 
all  those  that  stood  by  him  ;  and  he  cried,  Cause 
every  man  to  go  out  from  me.  And  there  re- 
mained no  man  with  him,  while  Joseph  made  him- 
self known  unto  his  brothers. 

And  he  raised  his  voice  in  weeping  ;  and  the 
Egyptians  heard  it,  and  the  house  of  Pharaoh 
heard  it. 

And  Joseph  said  unto  his  brothers,  I  am  Joseph ; 
doth  my  father  yet  live  ? 

And  he  fell  upon  his  brother  Benjamin's  neck, 
and  wept;  and  Benjamin  wept  upon  his  neck. 

And  he  kissed  all  his  brothers,  and  wept  upon 
them  ;  and  after  that  his  brothers  spoke  with  him. 

And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph,  Say  unto  thy 
brothers,  This  do  ye  :  load  your  beasts,  and  go,  get 
you  unto  the  land  of  Canaan  ; 

And  take  your  father  and  your  households,  and 
come  unto  me ;  and  I  will  give  you  the  best  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  ye  shall  eat  the  fat  of  the  land. 

•  •  ...•••• 

And  Joseph  made  ready  his  chariot,  and  went  up 
to  meet  Israel  his  father,  to  Goshen  ;  and  when  he 


5 8  PASSAGE    OF    THE    RED    SEA 

obtained  sight  of  him,  he  fell  on  his  neck,  and  wept 
on  his  neck  a  good  while. 

And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph,   Let  me  die   now, 
since  I  have  seen  thy  face,  that  thou  art  yet  alive. 

BIBLE — LEESER'S  TRANSLATION 


22 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  RED  SEA 

'Mid  the  light  spray  their  snorting  camels  stood, 
Nor  bathed  a  fetlock  in  the  nauseous  flood — 
He  comes — their  leader  comes  ! — the  man  of  God 
O'er  the  wide  waters  lifts  his  mighty  rod, 
And  onward  treads — the  circling  waves  retreat 
In  hoarse  deep  murmurs,  from  his  holy  feet ; 
And  the  chased  surges,  inly  roaring,  show 
The  hard  wet  sand  and  coral  hills  below. 
With  limbs  that  falter,  and  with  hearts  that  swell, 
Down,  down  they  pass — a  steep  and  slippery  dell.— 
Around  them  rise  in  pristine  chaos  hurled, 
The  ancient  rocks,  the  secrets  of  the  world ; 
And  flowers  that  blush  beneath  the  ocean  green, 
And   caves,  the  sea-calves'  low-roofed   haunt,  are 

seen. 
Down,  safely  down  the  narrow  pass  they  tread ; 
The  beetling  waters  storm  above  their  head  : 
While  far  behind  retires  the  sinking  day, 
And  fades  on  Edom's  hills  its  latest  ray. 
Yet  not  from  Israel  fled  the  friendly  light, 
Or  dark  to  them,  or  cheerless  came  the  night, 


SONG    OF    MOSES  59 

Still  in  their  van,  along-  the  dreadful  road, 

Blazed  broad  and  fierce  the  brandished  torch  of 

God. 
Its  meteor  glare  a  tenfold  lustre  gave 
On  the  long  mirror  of  the  rosy  wave  : 
While  its  blest  beams  a  sunlike  heat  supply, 
Warm  every  cheek,  and  dance  in  every  eye — 
To  them  alone — for  Mizraim's  wizard  train 
Invoke  for  light  their  monster-gods  in  vain  : 
Clouds   heaped    on   clouds   their   struggling  sight 

confine, 
And  tenfold  darkness  broods  above  their  line. 
Yet  on  they  fare,  by  reckless  vengeance  led, 
And  range  unconscious  through  the  ocean's  bed. 
Till  midway  now — that  strange  and  fiery  form 
Showed   his   dread  visage   lightning   through  the 

storm  ; 
With  withering  splendor  blasted  all  their  might, 
And  brake  their  chariot-wheels,  and  marred  their 

coursers'  flight 

"  Fly,  Mizraim,  fly  !  " — From  Edom's  coral  strand 
Again  the  prophet  stretched  his  dreadful  wand : — 
With  one  wild  crash  the  thundering  waters  sweep, 
And  all  is  waves — a  dark  and  lonely  deep. 

REGINALD    HEBER 
23 

SONG  OF  MOSES 

Exodus  xv.    1-1S. 

Then  sang  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this 
song  unto  the  Lord,  and  spake,  saying, 


60  SONG   OF    MOSES 

I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed 

gloriously  : 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the 

sea. 
The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  song, 
And  he  is  become  my  salvation  : 
This  is  my  God,  and  I  will  praise  him  ; 
My  father's  God,  and  I  will  exalt  him. 
The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war  : 
The  Lord  is  his  name. 
Pharaoh's  chariots  and  his  host  hath  he  cast   into 

the  sea : 
And  his  chosen  captains  are  sunk  in  the  Red  Sea. 
The  deeps  cover  them  : 

They  went  down  into  the  depths  like  a  stone. 
Thy  right  hand,  O  Lord,  is  glorious  in  power, 
Thy  right  hand,    O  Lord,   dasheth   in   pieces  the 

enemy. 
And  in  the  greatness  of  thine  excellency  thou  over- 

throwest  them  that  rise  up  against  thee  : 
Thou  sendest  forth  thy  wrath,  it  consumeth  them 

as  stubble. 
And  with  the  blast  of  thy  nostrils  the  waters  were 

piled  up, 
The  floods  stood  upright  as  an  heap ; 
The  deeps  were  congealed  in  the  heart  of  the  sea. 
The  enemy  said, 

I  will  pursue,  I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the  spoil : 
My  lust  shall  be  satisfied  upon  them  : 
I  will  draw  my  sword,  my  hand  shall  destroy  them. 
Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind,  the  sea  covered 

them : 


SONG    OF    MOS]   5  6 1 

They  sank  as  lead  in  the  mighty  waters. 

Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  gods  ? 

Who  is  like  thee,  glorious  in  holiness, 

Fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders  ? 

Thou  stretchedst  out  thy  right  hand, 

The  earth  swallowed  them. 

Thou  in  thy  mercy  hast  led  the  people  which  thou 

hast  redeemed : 
Thou  hast  guided  them  in  thy  strength  to  thy  holy 

habitation. 
The  peoples  have  heard,  they  tremble  : 
Pancrs  have  taken  hold  on  the  inhabitants  of  Phil- 

istia. 
Then  were  the  dukes  of  Edom  amazed  ; 
The  mighty  men  of  Moab,  trembling  taketh  hold 

upon  them  : 
All  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan  are  melted  away.. 
Terror  and  dread  falleth  upon  them  ; 
By  the  greatness  of  thine  arm  they  are  as  still  as  a 

stone ; 
Till  thy  people  pass  over,  O  Lord, 
Till  the  people  pass  over  which  thou  hast  purchased. 
Thou  shalt  bring  them  in,  and  plant  them  in  the 

mountain  of  thine  inheritance, 
The  place,  O  Lord,  which  thou  hast  made  for  thee 

to  dwell  in, 
The  sanctuary,  O  Lord,  which  thy  hands  have  es- 
tablished. 
The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

BIBLE— REVISED    VERSION 


62  MOUNT    HOR 

24 

MOUNT  HOR 

Numbers  xx.  23-29. 

They  have  left  the  camp,  with  its  tents  outspread- 
in  p1 
Like  a  garden  of  lilies,  on  Edom's  plain  ; 
They  are  climbing  the  mountain,  in  silence  tread- 
ing 
A  path  which  one  shall  not  tread  again. 
Two  aged  brothers  the  way  are  leading, 
There  follows  a  youth  in  the  solemn  train. 

O'er  a  sister's  bier  they  have  just  been  bending  ; 

The  desert  prophetess  sleeps  hard  by  : 
With  her  toilsome  sojourn  nearly  ending, 

With  Judah's  mountains  before  her  eye, 
The  echoes  of  Kadesh  and  Canaan  blending, 

She  has  calmly  turned  her  aside  to  die  ! 

They  come,  not  to  gaze  on  the  matchless  glory, 
On  grandeur  the  like  of  which  earth  has  not ; 

A  billowy  ocean  of  mountains  hoary, 
A  chaos  of  cliffs  round  this  awful  spot ; 

A  vision  like  that  in  some  old-world  story, 
Too  terrible  ever  to  be  forgot. 

The  king  and  the  priest  move  on  unspeaking, 
The  desert-priest  and  the  desert-king ; 

'Tis  a  grave,  a  mountain-grave  they  are  seeking, 
Fit  end  of  a  great  life-wandering  ! 

And  here,  till  the  day  of  the  glory-streaking, 
This  desert-eagle  must  fold  his  wing. 


MOUNT    IIOR  6$ 

The  fetters  of  age  have  but  lightly  bound  him, 
This  bold  sharp  steep  he  can  bravely  breast ; 

With  his  six-score  wondrous  years  around  him, 
He  climbs  like  youth  to  the  mountain's  crest. 

The  mortal  moment  at  last  has  found  him, 
Willing  to  tarry,  yet  glad  to  rest. 

Is  that  a  tear-drop  his  dim  eye  leaving, 
As  he  looks  his  last  on  yon  desert-sun  ? 

Is  that  a  sigh  his  faint  bosom  heaving, 
As  he  lays  his  ephod  in  silence  down  ? 

'Twas  a  passing  mist,  to  his  sky  still  cleaving;— 
But  the  sky  has  brightened, — the  cloud  is  gone  ! 

In  his  shroud  of  rock  they  have  gently  wound  him, 
'Tis  a  Bethel-pillow  that  love  has  given  ; 

I  see  no  gloom  of  the  grave  around  him, 
The  death-bed  fetters  have  all  been  riven ; 

'Tis  the  angel  of  life,  not  of  death,  that  has  found 
him. 
And  this  is  to  him  the  gate  of  heaven. 

He  has  seen  the  tombs  of  old  Mizfaim's  wonder, 
Where  the  haughty  Pharaohs  embalm'd  recline  ; 

But  no  pyramid-tomb,  with  its  costly  grandeur, 
Can  once  be  compared  with  this  mountain-shrine ; 

No  monarch  of  Memphis  is  swathed  in  splendor, 
Hi<rh  Priest  of  the  desert,  like  this  of  thine ! 

Not  with  thy  nation  thy  bones  are  lying, 
Nor  Israel's  hills  shall  thy  burial  see  ; 

Yet  with  Edom's  vultures  around  thee  flying, 
Safe  and  unrifled  thy  dust  shall  be ; — 


64  MOUNT    HOR 

Oh  who  would  not  covet  so  calm  a  dying, 

And  who  would  not  rest  by  the  side  of  thee  ? 

Not  with  thy  fathers  thy  slumber  tasting ; 

From  sister  and  brother  thou  seem'st  to  flee. 
Not  in  Shechem's  plain  are  thy  ashes  wasting, 

Not  in  Machpelah  thy  grave  shall  be ; 
In  the  land  of  the  stranger  thy  dust  is  resting, — 

Yet  who  would  not  sleep  by  the  side  of  thee  ? 

Alone  and  safe,  in  the  happy  keeping 

Of  rocks  and  sands,  till  the  glorious  morn, 

They  have  laid  thee  down  for  thy  lonely  sleeping, 
Waysore  and  weary  and  labor-worn  ; 

While  faintly  the  sound  of  a  nation's  weeping 
From  the  vale  beneath  thee  is  upward  borne. 

Alone  and  safe,  in  the  holy  keeping 

Of  Him  who  holdeth  the  grave's  cold  key, 

They  have  laid  thee  down  for  the  blessed  sleeping, 
The  quiet  rest  which  his  dear  ones  see  ; — 

And  why  o'er  thee  should  we  weep  the  weeping, 
For  who  would  not  rest  by  the  side  of  thee  ? 

Three  Hebrew  cradles,  the  Nile-palms  under, 
Rocked  three  sweet  babes  upon  Egypt's  plain ; 

Three  desert-graves  must  these  dear  ones  sunder  ; 
Three  sorrowful  links  of  a  broken  chain  ; 

Kadesh  and  Hor,  and  Nebo  yonder, — 
Three  way-marks  now  for  the  pilgrim-train. 

Are  these  my  way-marks,  these  tombs  of  ages  ? 
Are  these  my  guides  to  the  land  of  rest  ? 


MOUNT    HOR  65 

Are  these  grim  rock-tombs  the  stony  pages, 
Which  show  how  to  follow  the  holy  blest  ? 

And  bid  me  rise,  'bove  each  storm  that  rages, 
Like  a  weary  dove  to  its  olive  nest  ? 

On  this  rugged  cliff,  while  the  sun  is  dying 

Behind  yon  majestic  mountain- wall, 
I  stand ; — not  a  cloudlet  above  me  flying, — 

Not  a  foot  is  stirring,  no  voices  call ; — 
A  traveller  lonely,  a  stranger,  trying 

To  muse  o'er  this  wondrous  funeral. 

In  silence  we  stand,  till  the  faint  stars  cover 
This  grave  of  ages.     Yes,  thus  would  we 

Still  look  and  linger,  and  gaze  and  hover 
About  this  cave  where  thy  dust  may  be  ! 

Great  Priest  of  the  desert,  thy  toil  is  over, 
And  who  would  not  rest  by  the  side  of  thee  ? 

■  •••••••■ 

The  night  of  ages  bends  softly  o'er  us ; 

Four  thousand  autumns  have  well-nigh  fled, 
Love  watches  still  the  old  tomb  before  us 

Of  sainted  dust,  in  its  mountain-bed  ; 
Till  the  longed-for  trump  shall  awake  the  chorus 

From  desert  and  field,  of  the  blessed  dead. 

HORATIUS    BONAR 


66  BURIAL    OF    MOSES 

25 

BURIAL  OF  MOSES 

And  he  buried  him  in  a  valley  in  the  land  of  Moab,  over 
against  Beth-peor  :  but  no  man  knoweth  of  his  sepulchre  unto 
this  day. — Deut.  xxxiv.  6. 

By  Nebo's  lonely  mountain, 

On  this  side  Jordan's  wave, 
In  a  vale  in  the  land  of  Moab, 

There  lies  a  lonely  grave  ; 
But  no  man  built  that  sepulchre, 

And  no  man  saw  it  e'er, 
For  the  angels  of  God  upturned  the  sod, 

And  laid  the  dead  man  there. 

That  was  the  grandest  funeral 

That  ever  passed  on  earth  ; 
Yet  no  man  heard  the  trampling, 

Or  saw  the  train  go  forth  ; 
Noiselessly  as  the  daylight 

Comes  when  the  night  is  done, 
And  the  crimson  streak  on  ocean's  cheek 

Grows  into  the  great  sun, — , 

Noiselessly  as  the  spring-time 

Her  crown  of  verdure  weaves, 
And  all  the  trees  on  all  the  hills 

Unfold  their  thousand  leaves, — ■ 
So,  without  sound  of  music, 

Or  voice  of  them  that  wept, 
Silently  down  from  the  mountain's  crown 

The  great  procession  swept. 


ISUR1AL    OF    MOSES  6"J 

Lo  !  when  the  warrior  dieth, 

His  comrades  in  the  war, 
With  arms  reversed,  and  muffled  drums, 

Follow  the  funeral  car. 
They  show  the  banners  taken, 

They  tell  his  battles  won, 
And  after  him  lead  his  masterless  steed, 

While  peals  the  minute-gun. 

Amid  the  noblest  of  the  land 

Men  lay  the  sage  to  rest, 
And  give  the  bard  an  honored  place, 

With  costly  marbles  dressed, 
In  the  great  minster  transept, 

Where  lights  like  glories  fall, 
And  the  sweet  choir  sings,  and  the  organ  rings 

Alon<x  the  emblazoned  hall. 


*&> 


This  was  the  bravest  warrior 

That  ever  buckled  sword  ; 
This  the  most  gifted  poet 

That  ever  breathed  a  word  ; 
And  never  earth's  philosopher 

Traced,  with  his  golden  pen, 
On  the  deathless  page,  truths  half  so  sage 

As  he  wrote  down  for  men. 

And  had  he  not  high  honor  ? 

The  hill-side  for  a  pall  ; 
To  lie  in  state  while  angels  wait, 

With  stars  for  tapers  tall ; 
And  the  dark  rock-pines  like  tossing  plumes, 

Over  his  bier  to  wave  ; 


68  WEEP,    CHILDREN    OF    ISRAEL 

And  God's  own  hand,  in  that  lonely  land, 
To  lay  him  in  his  grave ! — 

O  lonely  tomb  in  Moab's  land  ! 

O  dark  Beth-peor's  hill ! 
Speak  to  these  curious  hearts  of  ours, 

And  teach  them  to  be  still. 
God  hath  his  mysteries  of  grace, — 

Ways  that  we  cannot  tell ; 
He  hides  them  deep,  like  the  secret  sleep 

Of  him  he  loved  so  well. 

C    F.    ALEXANDER 
26 

WEEP,  CHILDREN  OF  ISRAEL 

Weep,  weep  for  him,  the  Man  of  God — 
In  yonder  vale  he  sunk  to  rest ; 

But  none  of  earth  can  point  the  sod 
That  flowers  above  his  sacred  breast. 

Weep,  children  of  Israel,  weep! 

His  doctrine  fell  like  heaven's  rain, 

His  words  refreshed  like  heaven's  dew — 

Oh,  ne'er  shall  Israel  see  again 
A  chief,  to  God  and  her  so  true. 

Weep,  children  of  Israel,  weep  ! 

Remember  ye  his  parting  gaze, 
His  farewell  song  by  Jordan's  tide, 

When,  full  of  glory  and  of  days, 

He  saw  the  promised  land — and  died. 

Weep,  children  of  Israel,  weep  ! 


NO   MAN    KNOWETH    OF    HIS   SEPULCHRE  69 

Yet  died  he  not  as  men  who  sink, 

Before  our  eyes,  to  soulless  clay : 
But,  changed  to  spirit,  like  a  wink 

Of  summer  lightning,  pass'd  away. 
Weep,  children  of    Israel,  weep  ! 

THOMAS  MOORE 


27 

"NO  MAN  KNOWETH  OF  HIS 
SEPULCHRE" 

When  he  who,  from  the  scourge  of  wrong, 
Aroused  the  Hebrew  tribes  to  fly, 

Saw  the  fair  region,  promised  long, 
And  bowed  him  on  the  hills  to  die, 

God  made  his  grave  to  men  unknown, 
Where  Moab's  rocks  a  vale  infold, 

And  laid  the  aged  seer  alone, 

To  slumber  while  the  world  grows  old. 

Thus  still,  whene'er  the  good  and  just 
Close  the  dim  eyes  on  life  and  pain, 

Heaven  watches  o'er  their  slumbering  dust 
Till  the  pure  spirit  comes  again. 

Though  nameless,  tramped  and  forgot, 

His  servant's  humble  ashes  lie, 
Yet  God  has  marked  and  sealed  the  spot, 

To  call  its  inmate  to  the  sky. 

WILLIAM    CULLEX    BRYANT 


yo  DEBORAH  S    SONG 

28 

DEBORAH'S  SONG 

Judges  v.  r-31. 

Then  sang  Deborah  and  Barak  the  son  of  Abi- 
noam  on  that  clay,  saying, 
For  that  the  leaders  took  the  lead  in  Israel, 
For  that  the  people  offered  themselves  willingly, 
Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Hear,  O  ye  kings ;  give  ear,  O  ye  princes  ; 
I,  even  I,  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  ; 
I  will  sing  praise  to  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel. 
Lord,  when  thou  wentest  forth  out  of  Seir, 
When  thou  marchedst  out  of  the  field  of  Edom, 
The  earth  trembled,  the  heavens  also  dropped, 
Yea,  the  clouds  dropped  water. 
The  mountains  flowed  down  at  the  presence  of  the 

Lord, 
Even  yon  Sinai  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  the 

God  of  Israel. 
In  the  days  of  Shamgar  the  son  of  Anath, 
In  the  days  of  Jael,  the  highways  were  unoccupied, 
And  the  travellers  walked  through  byways. 
The  rulers  ceased  in  Israel,  they  ceased, 
Until  that  I  Deborah  arose, 
That  I  arose  a  mother  in  Israel. 
They  chose  new  gods  ; 
Then  was  war  in  the  gates  : 
Was  there  a  shield  or  spear  seen 
Among  forty  thousand  in  Israel  ? 
My  heart  is  toward  the  governors  of  Israel, 


Deborah's  song  71 

That  offered  themselves  willingly  among  the  people ; 

Bless  ye  the  Lord. 

Tell  of  it,  ye  that  ride  on  white  asses, 

Ye  that  sit  on  rich  carpets, 

And  ye  that  walk  by  the  way. 

Far  from  the   noise  of  archers,    in  the  places  of 

drawing  water, 
There  shall  they  rehearse  the  righteous  acts  of  the 

Lord, 
Even  the  righteous  acts  of  his  rule  in  Israel, 
Then  the  people  of  the  Lord  went  down  to  the 

gates. 
Awake,  awake,  Deborah  ; 
Awake,  awake,  utter  a  song  : 
Arise,  Barak,  and  lead  thy  captivity 
Captive,  thou  son  of  Abinoam. 
Then  came  down  a  remnant  of  the  nobles  and  the 

people  ; 
The  Lord  came  down  for  me  against  the  mighty. 
Out  of  Ephraim  came  down  they  whose  root  is  in 

Amalek  ; 
After  thee,  Benjamin,  among  thy  peoples  : 
Out  of  Machir  came  down  governors, 
And  out  of  Zebulun  they  that  handle  the  marshal's 

staff. 
And  the  princes  of  Issachar  were  with  Deborah ; 
As  was  Issachar,  so  was  Barak; 
Into  the  valley  they  rushed  forth  at  his  feet. 
By  the  water  courses  of  Reuben 
There  were  great  resolves  of  heart. 
Why  safest  thou  among  the  sheepfolds, 
To  hear  the  pipings  for  the  flocks  ? 


72  Deborah's  song 

At  the  watercourses  of  Reuben 

There  were  great  searchings  of  heart. 

Gilead  abode  beyond  Jordan  ; 

And  Dan,  why  did  he  remain  in  ships  ? 

Asher  sat  still  at  the  haven  of  the  sea, 

And  abode  by  his  creeks. 

Zebulun  was  a  people  that  jeoparded  their  lives 

unto  the  death, 
And  Naphtali  upon  the  high  places  of  the  field. 
The  kings  came  and  fought ; 
Then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
In  Taanach  by  the  waters  of  Megiddo  : 
They  took  no  gain  of  money. 
They  fought  from  heaven, 

The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera. 
The  river  Kishon  swept  them  away, 
That  ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon. 
O  my  soul,  march  on  with  strength. 
Then  did  the  horsehoofs  stamp 
By  reason  of  the  pransings,  the  pransing  of  their 

strong  ones. 
Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
Curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof: 
Because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
To  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 
Blessed  above  women  shall  Jael  be, 
The  wife  of  Heber  the  Kenite, 
Blessed  shall  she  be  above  women  in  the  tent. 
He  asked  water  and  she  gave  him  milk  : 
She  brought  him  butter  in  a  lordly  dish. 
She  put  her  hand  to  the  nail, 
And  her  right  hand  to  the  workmen's  hammer, 


THE  WIFE  OK  MANOAH  TO  HER  HUSBAND   73 

And  with  the  hammer  she  smote  Sisera,  she  smote 

through  his  head, 
Yea,  she  pierced  and  struck  through  his  temples. 
At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell,  he  lay  : 
At  her  feet  he  bowed,  he  fell  : 
Where  he  bowed,  there  he  fell  down  dead. 
Through  the  window  she  looked  forth,  and  cried, 
The  mother  of  Sisera  cried  through  the  lattice, 
Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming  ? 
Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariots  ? 
Her  wise  ladies  answered  her, 
Yea,  she  returned  answer  to  herself, 
Have  they  not  found,  have  they  not  divided  the 

spoil  ? 
A  damsel,  two  damsels  to  every  man  ; 
To  Sisera  a  spoil  of  divers  colors, 
A  spoil  of  clivers  colors  of  embroidery, 
Of  divers  colors  of  embroidery  on  both  sides,  on 

the  necks  of  the  spoil  ? 
So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord  : 
But  let  them  that  love  him  be  as  the  sun  when  he 

goeth  forth  in  his  might. 

BIBLE REVISED  VERSION 

29 

THE  WIFE  OF  MANOAH  TO  HER 
HUSBAND 

Against  the  sunset's  glowing  wall 
The  city  towers  rise  black  and  tall, 
Where  Zorah,  on  its  rocky  height, 
Stands  like  an  armed  man  in  the  light. 


74   THE  WIFE  OF  MANOAH  TO  HER  HUSBAND 

Down  Eshtaol's  vales  of  ripened  grain 
Falls  like  a  cloud  the  night  amain, 
And  up  the  hillsides  climbing  slow 
The  barley  reapers  homeward  go. 

Look,  clearest,  how  our  fair  child's  head 
The  sunset  light  hath  hallowed, 
Where  at  this  olive's  foot  he  lies, 
Uplooking  to  the  tranquil  skies. 

Oh,  while  beneath  the  fervent  heat 
Thy  sickle  swept  the  bearded  wheat, 
I've  watched,  with  mingled  joy  and  dread, 
Our  child  upon  his  grassy  bed. 

Joy,  which  the  mother  feels  alone 
Whose  morning  hope  like  mine  had  flown, 
When  to  her  bosom,  over-blessed, 
A  dearer  life  than  hers  is  pressed. 

Dread,  for  the  future  dark  and  still, 
Which  shapes  our  dear  one  to  its  will ; 
Forever  in  his  large,  calm  eyes, 
I  read  a  tale  of  sacrifice. 

The  same  foreboding  awe  I  felt 

When  at  the  altar's  side  we  knelt, 

And  he,  who  as  a  pilgrim  came, 

Rose,  winged  and  glorious,  through  the  flame. 

I  slept  not,  though  the  wild  bees  made 
A  dreamlike  murmuring  in  the  shade, 
And  on  me  the  warm-fingered  hours 
Pressed  with  the  drowsy  smell  of  flowers. 


THE    WIFE    OF    MANOAII    TO    HER   HUSBAND        75 

Before  me,  in  a  vision,  rose 
The  hosts  of  Israel's  scornful  foes, — 
Rank  over  rank,  helm,  shield  and  spear, 
Glittered  in  noon's  hot  atmosphere. 

I  heard  their  boast,  and  bitter  word, 
Their  mockery  of  the  Hebrew's  Lord, 
I  saw  their  hands  his  ark  assail, 
Their  feet  profane  his  holy  veil. 

No  angel  down  the  blue  space  spoke, 
No  thunder  from  the  still  sky  broke  ; 
But  in  their  midst,  in  power  and  awe 
Like  God's  waked  wrath,  our  child  I  saw  ! 

A  child  no  more  ! — harsh-browed  and  strong, 
He  towered  a  giant  in  the  throng, 
And  down  his  shoulders,  broad  and  bare, 
Swept  the  black  terror  of  his  hair. 

He  raised  his  arm— he  smote  amain  ; 
As  round  the  reaper  falls  the  grain, 
So  the  dark  host  around  him  fell, 
So  sank  the  foes  of  Israel ! 

Again  I  looked.     In  sunlight  shone 
The  towers  and  domes  of  Askelon. 
Priest,  warrior,  slave,  a  mighty  crowd, 
Within  her  idol  temple  bowed. 

Yet  one  knelt  not ;  stark,  gaunt,  and  blind, 
His  arms  the  massive  pillars  twined, — 
An  eyeless  captive,  strong  with  hate, 
He  stood  there  like  an  evil  Fate. 


j6       THE  WIFE  OF  MANOAH  TO  HER  HUSBAND 

The  reel  shrines  smoked, — the  trumpets  pealed : 
He  stooped, — the  giant  columns  reeled  ; 
Reeled  tower  and  fane,  sank  arch  and  wall, 
And  the  thick  dust-cloud  closed  o'er  all ! 

Above  the  shriek,  the  crash,  the  groan 
Of  the  fallen  pride  of  Askelon, 
I  heard,  sheer  down  the  echoing  sky, 
A  voice  as  of  an  angel  cry, — 

The  voice  of  him,  who  at  our  side 

Sat  through  the  golden  eventide  ; 

Of  him  who,  on  thy  altar's  blaze 

Rose  fire- winged,  with  his  song  of  praise. 

"Rejoice  o'er  Israel's  broken  chain, 
Gray  mother  of  the  mighty  slain  ! 
Rejoice  !  "  it  cried,  "he  vanquisheth  ! 
The  strong  in  life  is  strong  in  death  ! 

"  To  him  shall  Zorah's  daughters  raise 
Through  coming  years  their  hymns  of  praise, 
And  gray  old  men  at  evening  tell 
Of  all  he  wrought  for  Israel. 


•t>* 


"  And  they  who  sing  and  they  who  hear 
Alike  shall  hold  thy  memory  dear, 
And  pour  their  blessings  on  thy  head, 

0  mother  of  the  mighty  dead !  " 

It  ceased ;  and  though  a  sound  I  heard 
As  if  great  wings  the  still  air  stirred, 

1  only  saw  the  barley  sheaves 
And  hill  half  hid  by  olive  leaves. 


DEATH    OF    SAMSON  77 

I  bowed  my  face,  in  awe  and  fear, 

On  the  dear  child  who  slumbered  near  ; 

"  With  me,  as  with  my  only  son, 

O  God,"  I  said,  "Thy  will  be  done  !  " 

JOHN    GREENLEAF    WHITTIER 


3° 

DEATH  OF  SAMSON 

(From  Samson  Agonistes) 

The  building  was  a  spacious  theatre, 

Half  round  on  two  main  pillars  vaulted  high, 

With  seats  where  all  the  lords,  and  each  degree 

Of  sort,  might  sit  in  order  to  behold  ; 

The  other  side  was  open,  where  the  throng 

On  banks  and  scaffolds  under  sky  might  stand : 

I  among  these  aloof  obscurely  stood. 

The  feast  and  noon  grew  high,  and  sacrifice 

Had  filled  their  hearts  with  mirth,  high  cheer,  and 

wine, 
When  to  their  sports  they  turned.     Immediately 
Was  Samson  as  a  public  servant  brought, 
In  their  state  livery  clad  :  before  him  pipes 
And  timbrels ;  on  each  side  went  armed  guards  ; 
Both  horse  and  foot,  before  him  and  behind, 
Archers  and  slingers,  cataphracts  and  spears. 
At  sight  of  him  the  people  with  a  shout 
Rifted  the  air,  clamoring  their  god  with  praise, 
Who  had  made  their  dreadful  enemy  their  thrall. 
He  patient,  but  undaunted,  where  they  led  him, 


78  DEATH    OF    SAMSON 

Came  to  the  place ;  and  what  was  set  before  him, 

Which  without  help  of  eye  might  be  assayed, 

To  heave,  pull,  draw,  or  break,  he  still  performed 

All  with  incredible,  stupendous  force, 

None  daring  to  appear  antagonist. 

At  length,  for  intermission  sake,  they  led  him 

Between  the  pillars  ;  he  his  guide  requested 

(For  so  from  such  as  nearer  stood  we  heard) 

As  over-tired  to  let  him  lean  awhile 

With  both  his  arms  on  those  two  massy  pillars, 

That  to  the  arched  roof  gave  main  support. 

He,  unsuspicious,  led  him ;  which  when  Samson 

Felt  in  his  arms,  with  head  awhile  inclined, 

And  eyes  fast  fixed,  he  stood,  as  one  who  prayed, 

Or  some  great  matter  in  his  mind  revolved : 

At  last,  with  head  erect,  thus  cried  aloud : — ■ 

"Hitherto,  Lords,  what  your  commands  imposed 

I  have  performed,  as  reason  was,  obeying, 

Not  without  wonder  or  delight  beheld ; 

Now,  of  my  own  accord,  such  other  trial 

I  mean  to  show  you  of  my  strength  yet  greater 

As  with  amaze  shall  strike  all  who  behold." 

This  uttered,  straining  all  his  nerves  he  bowed ; 

As  with  the  force  of  winds  and  waters  pent, 

When  mountains  tremble,  those  two  massy  pillars 

With  horrible  convulsion  to  and  fro 

He  tugged,  he  shook,  till   down   they   came,  and 

drew 
The  whole  roof  after  them  with  burst  of  thunder 
Upon  the  heads  of  all  who  sat  beneath, 
Lords,  ladies,  captains,  counsellors,  or  priests, 
Their  choice  nobility  and  flower,  not  only 


RUTH  79 

Of  this  but  each  Philistian  city  round, 
Met  from  all  parts  to  solemnize  this  feast. 
Samson,  with  these  inmixed,  inevitably 
Pulled  down  the  same  destruction  on  himself ; 
The  vulgar  only  scaped  who  stood  without. 

JOHN    MILTON 

31 

RUTH 

She  stood  breast-high  amid  the  corn, 
Clasped  by  the  golden  light  of  morn, 
Like  the  sweetheart  of  the  sun, 
Who  many  a  glowing  kiss  had  won. 

On  her  cheek  an  autumn  flush 
Deeply  ripened ; — such  a  blush 
In  the  midst  of  brown  was-  born, 
Like  red  poppies  grown  with  corn. 

Round  her  eyes  her  tresses  fell, — 
Which  were  blackest  none  could  tell ; 
But  long  lashes  veiled  a  light, 
That  had  else  been  all  too  bright. 

And  her  hat,  with  shady  brim, 
Made  her  tressy  forehead  dim ; — 
Thus  she  stood  amid  the  stooks, 
Praising  God  with  sweetest  looks : — 

Sure,  I  said,  heav'n  did  not  mean 
Where  I  reap  thou  shouldst  but  glean  ; 
Lay  thy  sheaf  adown  and  come, 
Share  my  harvest  and  my  home. 

THOMAS  HOOD 


80  THE    CHILD    SAMUEL 

32 

THE  CHILD  SAMUEL 

1  Samuel  iii.  1-15. 

Hushed  was  the  evening  hymn, 

The  temple  courts  were  dark ; 

The  lamp  was  burning  dim 

Before  the  sacred  Ark, 

When  suddenly  a  voice  divine 

Rang  through  the  silence  of  the  shrine. 

The  old  man  meek  and  mild, 

The  priest  of   Israel  slept  ; 

His  watch  the  temple  child, 

The  little  Levite  kept ; 

And  what  from  Eli's  sense  was  sealed, 

The  Lord  to  Hannah's  son  revealed. 

O  give  me  Samuel's  ear, 
The  open  ear,  O  Lord, 
Alive  and  quick  to  hear 
Each  whisper  of  Thy  word  ; 
Like  him  to  answer  at  Thy  call, 
And  so  obey  Thee  first  of  all. 

O  give  me  Samuel's  heart, 

A  lowly  heart  that  waits, 

Where  in  Thy  house  Thou  art, 

Or  watches  at  Thy  gates ; 

By  day  and  night,  a  heart  that  still 

Moves  at  the  breathing  of  Thy  will. 


SAUL  8 1 

O  give  me  Samuel's  mind, 

O  sweet,  unmurmuring  faith, 

Obedient  and  resigned 

To  Thee  in  life  and  death  ; 

That  I  may  read  with  child-like  eyes, 

Truths  that  are  hidden  from  the  wise. 

J.   D.  BORTHWICK 

33 
SAUL 

(Extract) 

Said  Abner,  "At  last  thou  art  come ! 

Ere  I  tell,  ere  thou  speak, 
Kiss  my  cheek,  wish  me  well !  "    Then  I  wished  it, 

And  did  kiss  his  cheek. 
And  he  :  "  Since  the  king,  O  my  friend, 

For  thy  countenance  sent, 
Nor  drunken  nor  eaten  have  we; 

Nor  until  from  his  tent 
Thou  return  with  the  joyful  assurance 

The  king  livethyet, 
Shall  our  lip  with  the  honey  be  brightened, 

— The  water  be  wet. 

"  For  out  of  the  black  mid-tent's  silence, 

A  space  of  three  days, 
No  sound  hath  escaped  to  thy  servants, 

Of  prayer  nor  of  praise, 
To  betoken  that  Saul  and  the  Spirit 

Have  ended  their  strife, 
And  that  faint  in  his  triumph  the  monarch 

Sinks  back  upon  life. 


82  SAUL 

"  Yet  now  my  heart  leaps,  O  beloved  ! 

God's  child,  with  his  dew 
On  thy  gracious  gold  hair,  and  those  lilies 

Still  living  and  blue 
As  thou  brak'st  them  to  twine   round   thy  harp- 
strings, 

As  if  no  wild  heat 
Were  raging  to  torture  the  desert !  " 

Then  I,  as  was  meet, 
Knelt  down  to  the  God  of  my  fathers, 
And  rose  on  my  feet, 
And  ran  o'er  the  sand  burnt  to  powder. 

The  tent  was  unlooped  ; 
I  pulled  up  the  spear  that  obstructed, 

And  under  I  stooped ; 
Hands  and  knees  on  the  slippery  grass-patch — 

All  withered  and  gone — ■ 
That  leads  to  the  second  enclosure, 

I  groped  my  way  on, 
Till  I  felt  where  the  foldskirts  fly  open ; 

Then  once  more  I  prayed, 
And  opened  the  foldskirts  and  entered, 

And  was  not  afraid  ; 
And  spoke,  "Here  is  David,  thy  servant !  " 

And  no  voice  replied  ; 
And  first  I  saw  naught  but  the  blackness; 

But  soon  I  descried 
A  something  more  black  than  the  blackness 

— The  vast,  the  upright 
Main-prop  which  sustains  the  pavilion, — 

And  slow  into  sight 


SAUL  83 

Grew  a  figure,  gigantic,  against  it, 

And  blackest  of  all ; — 
Then  a  sunbeam  that  burst  thro'  the  tent-roof, — 

Showed  Saul. 
He  stood  as  erect  as  that  tent-prop  ; 

Both  arms  stretched  out  wide 
On  the  great  cross-support  in  the  centre 

That  goes  to  each  side  : 
So  he  bent  not  a  muscle,  but  hung  there 

As,  caught  in  his  pangs 
And  waiting  his  change,  the  king-serpent 

All  heavily  hangs, 
Far  away  from  his  kind,  in  the  pine, 

Till  deliverance  come 
With  the  spring-time, — so  agonized  Saul, 

Drear  and  stark,  blind  and  dumb. 
Then  I  tuned  my  harp — took  off  the  lilies 

We  twine  round  its  chords 
Lest  they  snap  'neath  the  stress  of  the  noontide 

— Those  sunbeams  like  swords  ! 
And  I  first  played  the  tune  all  our  sheep  know, 

As,  one  after  one, 
So  docile  they  come  to  the  pen-door 

Till  folding  be  done  ; 
— They  are  white  and  untorn  by  the  bushes, 

For  lo,  they  have  fed 
Where  the  long  grasses  stifle  the  water 

Within  the  stream's  bed  : 
How  one  after  one  seeks  its  lodging, 

As  star  follows  star 
Into  eve  and  the  blue  far  above  us, 

— So  blue  and  so  far  ! 


84  SAUL 

Then  the  tune  for  which  quails  on  the  cornland 

Will  leave  each  his  mate 
To  follow  the  player ;  then  what  makes 

The  crickets  elate, 
Till  for  boldness  they  fight  one  another  : 

And  then,  what  has  weight 
To  set  the  quick  jerboa  a-musing 

Outside  his  sand  house 
— There  are  none  such  as  he  for  a  wonder — ■ 

Half  bird  and  half  mouse  ! 
— God  made  all  the  creatures  and  gave  them 

Our  love  and  our  fear, 
To  show,  we  and  they  are  his  children, 

One  family  here. 
Then  I  played  the  help-tune  of  our  reapers, 

Their  wine-song,  when  hand 
Grasps  hand,  eye  lights  eye  in  good  friendship, 

And  great  hearts  expand, 
And  grow  one  in  the  sense  of  this  world's  life  ; 

And  then,  the  low  song 
When  the  dead  man  is  praised  on  his  journey— 

"Bear,  bear  him  along 
With  his  few  faults  shut  up  like  dead  flowrets  ; 

Are  balm-seeds  not  here 
To  console  us  ?     The  land  is  left  none  such 

As  he  on  the  bier — 
Oh,  would  we  might  keep  thee,  my  brother  !  " 

And  then,  the  glad  chant 
Of  the  marriage, — first  go  the  young  maidens, 

Next,  she  whom  we  vaunt 
As  the  beauty,  the  pride  of  our  dwelling: 


SAUL  85 

And  then  the  great  march 
When  man  runs  to  man  to  assist  him, 

And  buttress  and  arch 
Naught  can  break  .     .     .     who  shall  harm  them, 
our  friends  ? 

Then  the  chorus  intoned 
As  the  Levites  go  up  to  the  altar 

In  glory  enthroned— 
But  I  stopped  here — for  here  in  the  darkness, 

Saul  groaned. 
And  I  paused,  held  my  breath  in  such  silence  ! 

And  listened  apart  ; 
And  the  tent  shook,  for  mighty  Saul  shuddered, — 

And  sparkles  'gan  dart 
From  the  jewels  that  woke  in  his  turban 

— At  once  with  a  start 
All  its  lordly  male  sapphires,  and  rubies 

Courageous  at  heart ; 
So  the  head — but  the  body  still  moved  not, 

Still  hung  there  erect. 
And  I  bent  once  again  to  my  playing, 

Pursued  it  unchecked, 
As  I  sang,  "  Oh,  our  manhood's  prime  vigor  ! 

— No  spirit  feels  waste, 
No  muscle  is  stopped  in  its  playing, 

No  sinew  unbraced  ; — 
And  the  wild  joys  of  living!  The  leaping 

From  rock  up  to  rock — 
The  rending  their  boughs  from  the  palm-trees, — 

The  cool  silver  shock 
Of  a  plunge  in  the  pool's  living  water— 

The  haunt  of  the  bear, 


86  SAUL 

And  the  sultriness  showing  the  lion 

Is  couched  in  his  lair  : 
And  the  meal — the  rich  dates — yellowed  over 

With  gold  dust  divine, 
And  the  locust's  flesh  steeped  in  the  pitcher, 

The  full  draught  of  wine, 
And  the  sleep  in  the  dried  river  channel 

Where  tall  rushes  tell 
The  water  was  wont  to  go  warbling 

So  softly  and  well, — 
How  good  is  man's  life  here,  mere  living ! 

How  fit  to  employ 
The  heart  and  the  soul  and  the  senses  for  ever  in 

joy! 
Hast  thou  loved  the  white  locks  of  thy  father 

Whose  sword  thou  didst  guard 
When  he  trusted  thee  forth  to  the  wolf  hunt 

For  glorious  reward  ? 
Didst  thou  see  the  thin  hands  of  thy  mother 

Held  up,  as  men  sung 
The  song  of  the  nearly-departed, 

And  heard  her  faint  tongue 
Joining  in  while  it  could  to  the  witness, 

'  Let  one  more  attest 
I  have  lived,  seen  God's  hand  thro'  that  lifetime, 

And  all  was  for  best  .     .     .  ' 
Then  they  sang  thro'  their  tears,  in  strong  triumph, 

Not  much — but  the  rest ! 
And  thy  brothers — the  help  and  the  contest, 

The  working  whence  grew 
Such  result,  as  from  seething  grape-bundles 

The  spirit  so  true  : 


THE    WATER    OF    BETHLEHEM    GATE  87 

And  the  friends  of  thy  boyhood — that  boyhood 

With  wonder  and  hope, 
Present  promise,  and  wealth  in  the  future, — 

The  eye's  eagle  scope, — 
Till  lo,  thou  art  grown  to  a  monarch, 

A  people  is  thine  ! 
Oh  all  gifts  the  world  offers  singly, 

On  one  head  combine, 
On  one  head  the  joy  and  the  pride, 

Even  rage  like  the  throe 
That  opes  the  rock,  helps  its  glad  labor, 

And  lets  the  gold  go — 
And  ambition  that  sees  a  sun  lead  it — 

Oh,  all  of  these — all 
Combine  to  unite  in  one  creature 

—Saul !  " 

ROBERT    BROWNING 


34 

THE  WATER  OF  BETHLEHEM  GATE 

(From  Three  Caps  of  Cold  Water) 

The  princely  David,  with  his  outlaw  band, 

Lodged  in  the  cave  Adullam.     Wild  and  fierce, 

With  lion-like  faces,  and  with  eagle  eyes, 

They  followed  where  he  led.     The  danger  pressed, 

For  over  all  the  land  the  Philistines 

Had  spread  their  armies.     Through  Rephaim's  vale 

Their  dark  tents  mustered  thick,  and  David's  home, 

His  father's  city,  Bethlehem,  owned  them  lords. 

'Twas  harvest,  and  the  crops  of  ripening  corn 


88  THE    WATER    OF    BETHLEHEM    GATE 

They  ravaged,  and  with  rude  feet  trampled  down 
The  tender  vines.     Men  hid  themselves  for  fear 
In  wood  or  caves.     The  brave  undaunted  few, 
Gathering  round  David,  sought  the  mountain  hold. 
The  sun  was  hot,  and  all  clay  long  they  v/atched 
With  spear  in  hand  and  never-resting  eye, 
As  those  who  wait  for  battle.     But  at  eve 
The  eye  grew  dim,  the  lips  were  parched  with  thirst, 
And  from  that  arid  rock  no  trickling  stream 
Of  living  water  gushed.     From  time-worn  skins 
The  tainted  drops  were  poured,  and  fevered  lips 
Half-loathing  drank  them  up.     And  David's  soul 
Was  weary  ;  the  hot  simoon  scorched  his  veins  ; 
The  strong  sun  smote  on  him,  and,  faint  and  sick, 
He  sat  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  rock. 
And  then  before  his  eyes  a  vision  came, 
Cool  evening,  meadows  green,  and  pleasant  sounds 
Of  murmuring  fountains.     Oft  in  days  of  youth, 
When  leading  home  his  flocks  as  sunset  fell, 
That  fount  had  quenched  his  thirst,  and  dark-eyed 

girls, 
The  pride  and  joy  of  Bethlehem,  meeting  there, 
Greeted  the  shepherd  boy,  their  chieftain's  son 
(As,  bright  and  fair  with  waving  locks  of  gold 
Exulting  in  the  flush  of  youth's  full  glow, 
He  mingled  with  their  throng),  and  gazing,  rapt 
With  wonder  at  his  beauty,  gave  him  drink. 
And  now  the  words  came  feebly  from  his  lips, 
A  murmur  half  in  silence,  which  the  ear 
Of  faithful  followers  caught :  "  Oh  !  who  will  bring 
From  that  fair  stream,  which  flowing  by  the  gate 
Of  Bethlehem's  wall  makes  music  in  the  ear, 


THE    WATER    OF    BETHLEHEM    GATE  89 

One  drop  to  cool  this  tongue  ?  "  They  heard,  the 

three, 
The  mightiest  of  the  thirty,  swift  of  foot 
As  are  the  harts  upon  the  mountains,  strong 
As  are  the  lions  clown  by  Jordan's  banks  ; 
They  heard  and  darted  forth  ;  clown  rock  and  crag 
They  leapt,  as  leaps  the  torrent  on  its  course, 
Through  plain  and  vale.they  sped,  and  never  stayed, 
Until  the  wide  encampment  of  the  foe 
Warned  them  of  danger  nigh.     But  not  for  fear 
Abandoned  they  their  task.     When  evening  fell, 
And  all  the  Philistines  were  hushed  in  sleep, 
And  over  all  the  plain  the  full  bright  moon 
Poured  its  rich  lustre,  onward  still  they  stole, 
By  tent  fires  creeping  with  hushed  breath,  and  feet 
That  feared  to  wake  the  echoes,  till  at  last 
They  heard  the  babbling  music,  and  the  gleam 
Of  rippling  moonlight  caught  their  eager  eye, 
And  o'er  them  fell  the  shade  of  Bethlehem's  gate. 
They  tarried  not.     One  full  delicious  draught 
Slaked  their  fierce  thirst,  and  then  with  anxious 

haste 
They  filled  their  water-urn,  and  full  of  joy, 
They  bore  it  back  in  triumph  to  their  lord. 
With  quickened  steps  they  tracked  their  path  again 
O'er  plain  and  valley,  up  o'er  rock  and  crag, 
And  as  the  early  sunlight  kissed  the  hills 
They  stood  before  him.     He  had  won  their  hearts 
By  brave  deeds,  gentle  words,  and  stainless  life, 
And  now  they  came  to  give  him  proof  of  love, 
And  pouring  out  the  water  bade  him  drink. 
But  lo  !  he  would  not  taste.     He  heard  their  tale 


90  THE    RAISING    OF    SAMUEL 

(In  few  words  told,  as  brave  men  tell  their  deeds), 
And  lifting  up  his  hands  with  solemn  prayer, 
As  though  he  stood,  a  priest,  before  the  shrine, 
He  poured  it  on  the  earth  before  the  Lord. 
"Far  be  it  from  me,  God,  that  I  should  drink, 
The  slave  of  selfish  lust,  forgetting  Thee, 
Forgetting  these  my  brothers.     In  Thine  eyes 
This  water  fresh  and  cool  is  as  the  blood 
Of  hero-souls  who  jeoparded  their  lives. 
That  blood  I  may  not  taste.     .     .    To  Thee,  O  Lord, 
To  Thee  I  pour  it.     Thou  wilt  pardon  me 
For  mine  unkingly  weakness,  pardon  them 
For  all  rough  deeds  of  war.     Their  noble  love 
Shall  cover  all  their  sins  ;  for  Thou  hast  claimed, 
More  than  all  blood  of  bulls  and  goats,  the  will 
That,  self-forgetting,  lives  in  deeds  like  this." 
So  spake  the  hero-king,  and  all  the  host 
Looked  on  and  wondered  ;  and  those  noble  three, 
The  mightiest  of  the  thirty,  felt  their  souls 
Knit  closer  to  King  David  and  to  God. 

E.    H.    PLUMPTRE 


35 


THE  RAISING  OF  SAMUEL 

Thou  whose  spell  can  raise  the  dead, 
Bid  the  prophet's  form  appear. 

"  Samuel,  raise  thy  buried  head  ! 
King,  behold  the  phantom  seer  !  " 


THE    RAISING    OF    SAMUEL  91 

Karth  yawn'd  ;  he  stood  the  centre  of  a  cloud  : 

Light  changed  its  hue,  retiring  from  his  shroud. 

Death  stood  all  glassy  in  his  fixed  eye ; 

His  hand  was  wither'd,  and  his  veins  were  dry  ; 

His  foot,  in  bony  whiteness,  glitter'd  there, 

Shrunken  and  sinewless,  and  ghastly  bare  : 

From  lips  that  moved  not  and  unbreathing  frame, 

Like  cavern'd  winds,  the  hollow  accents  came. 

Saul  saw,  and  fell  to  earth,  as  falls  the  oak, 

At  once,  and  blasted  by  the  thunder-stroke. 

"  Why  is  my  sleep  disquieted  ? 
Who  is  he  that  calls  the  dead  ? 
Is  it  thou,  oh  King  ?  Behold, 
Bloodless  are  these  limbs,  and  cold  : 
Such  are  mine  ;  and  such  shall  be 
Thine  to-morrow,  when  with  me  : 
Ere  the  coming  day  is  done, 
Such  shalt  thou  be,  such  thy  son. 
Fare  thee  well,  but  for  a  day, 
Then  we  mix  our  mouldering  clay. 
Thou,  thy  race,  lie  pale  and  low, 
Pierced  by  shafts  of  many  a  bow  ; 
And  the  falchion  by  thy  side 
To  thy  heart  thy  hand  shall  guide  : 
Crownless,  breathless,  headless  fall, 
Son  and  sire,  the  house  of  Saul  !  " 

LORD    BYRON 


92  SONG    OF    SAUL 


36 

SONG  OF  SAUL  BEFORE  HIS  LAST 
BATTLE 

Warriors  and  chiefs !  should  the  shaft  or  the  sword 
Pierce  me  in  leading  the  host  of  the  Lord, 
Heed  not  the  corse,  though  a  king's  in  your  path  : 
Bury  your  steel  in  the  bosoms  of  Gath  ! 

Thou  who  art  bearing  my  buckler  and  bow, 
Should  the  soldiers  of  Saul  look  away  from  the  foe, 
Stretch  me  that  moment  in  blood  at  thy  feet ! 
Mine  be  the  doom  which  they  dared  not  to  meet. 

Farewell  to  others,  but  never  we  part, 
Heir  to  my  royalty,  son  of  my  heart ! 
Bright  is  the  diadem,  boundless. the  sway, 
Or  kingly  the  death,  which  awaits  us  to-day. 

LORD    BYRON 


37 

DAVID'S  LAMENT  OVER  SAUL  AND 
JONATHAN 

2  Samuel  i.  19-27. 

Thy  glory,  O  Israel,  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places ! 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen  ! 

Tell  it  not  in  Gath, 

Publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Ashkelon  ; 


david's  lament  93 

Lest  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice, 
Lest  the  daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  triumph. 
Ye  mountains  of  Gilboa, 
Let  there  be  no  dew  nor  rain  upon  you, 

neither  fields  of  offerings  : 
For  there  the  shield   of  the  mighty  was  vilely  cast 

away, 
The  shield  of  Saul,  not  anointed  with  oil. 
From  the  blood  of  the  slain,  from   the  fat   of  the 

mighty, 
The  bow  of  Jonathan  turned  not  back, 
And  the  sword  of  Saul  returned  not  empty. 
Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their 

lives, 
And  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided ; 
They  were  swifter  than  eagles, 
They  were  stronger  than  lions. 
Ye  daughters  of  Israel,  weep  over  Saul, 
Who  clothed  you  in  scarlet  delicately, 
Who  put  ornaments  of  gold  upon  your  apparel. 
How  are  the    mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the 

battle ! 
Jonathan  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places. 
I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan : 
Very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me  : 
Thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful, 
Passing  the  love  of  women. 
How  are  the  mighty  fallen, 
And  the  weapons  of  war  perished  ! 

BIBLE — REVISED    VERSION 


THE    SONGS   OF    THE   NIGHT 

THE  SONGS  OF  THE  NIGHT 

As  David  in  his  youthful  days  was  tending  his 
flocks  on  Bethlehem's  plains,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  him,  and  his  senses  were  opened  that  he 
might  comprehend  the  songs  of  the  night. 

The  heavens  proclaimed  the  glory  of  God ;  the 
glittering  stars  all  formed  one  chorus.  Their  har- 
monious melody  resounded  on  earth,  and  the  sweet 
fulness  of  their  voices  vibrated  to  its  uttermost 
bounds. 

"  Light  is  the  countenance  of  the  Eternal,"  sung 
the  setting  sun.  "  I  am  the  hem  of  his  garment," 
responded  the  rosy  tint  of  twilight. 

The  clouds  gathered  and  said,  "  We  are  his 
nocturnal  tent,"  and  the  waters  of  the  cloud,  and 
the  hollow  voices  of  the  thunders,  joined  in  the 
lofty  chorus.  "The  voice  of  the  Eternal  is  upon 
the  waters ;  the  God  of  glory  thundereth ;  the 
Lord  upon  many  waters." 

"  He  did  fly  upon  my  wings,"  whispered  the  wind, 
and  the  silent  air  replied,  "  I  am  the  breath  of  God, 
the  aspiration  of  his  benign  presence." 

"We  hear  the  songs  of  praise,"  said  the  parched 
earth ;  "  all  around  is  praise,  I  alone  am  silent  and 
mute ! "  And  the  falling  dew  replied,  "  I  will  nourish 
thee,  so  that  thou  shalt  be  refreshed  and  rejoice, 
and  thy  infants  shall  bloom  like  the  young  rose." 

"  Joyfully  we  bloom,"  replied  the  refreshed 
meadows.     The  full  ears  of  corn  waved  as   they 


THE   SONGS   OF   THE   NIGHT  95 

sung,  "  We  arc  the  blessing  of  God,  the  hosts  of 
God  against  famine." 

"We  bless  you  from  above,"  said  the  moon; 
"  We  bless  you,"  responded  the  stars ;  and  the 
grasshopper  chirped,  "Me  too  He  blesses  in  the 
pearly  dew-drop." 

"He  quenched  my  thirst,"  said  the  roe;  "and 
refreshed  me,"  continued  the  stag;  "and  grants 
us  our  food,"  said  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  "and 
clothes  my  lambs,"  gratefully  sung  the  sheep. 

"He  heard  me,"  croaked  the  raven,  "when  I  was 
forsaken  and  alone."  "He  heard  me,"  said  the 
wild  goat  of  the  rocks,  "when  my  time  came 
and  I  calved." 

And  the  turtle-dove  cooed,  and  the  swallow  and  all 
the  birds  joined  their  song  :  "  We  have  found  our 
nests,  our  houses,  we  dwell  on  the  altar  of  the  Lord, 
and  sleep  under  the  shadow  of  his  wing,  in  tran- 
quillity and  peace." 

"And  peace,"  replied  the  night,  and  echo  pro- 
longed the  sound,  when  chanticleer  awoke  the  dawn 
and  crowed,  "Open  the  portals,  the  gates  of  the 
world  !  The  King  of  glory  approacheth  !  Awake  ! 
Arise !  Ye  sons  of  men,  give  praises  and  thanks  to 
the  Lord,  for  the  King  of  glory  cometh." 

The  sun  arose  and  David  awoke  from  his  melodi- 
ous rapture.  But  as  long  as  he  lived,  the  strains  of 
creation's  harmony  remained  in  his  soul,  and  daily 
he  recalled  them  from  the  strings  of  his  harp. 

THE    HEBREW    REVIEW 

Talmudic  Allegory 


g6  THE    DEDICATION    OF   THE    TEMPLE 

39 

THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  TEMPLE 

i   Kings  viii.  22-62. 

And  Solomon  placed  himself  before  the  altar  of 
the  Lord  in  the  presence  of  all  the  congregation  of 
Israel,  and  spread  forth  his  hands  toward  heaven  ; 

And  he  said,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  there  is 
no  God  like  thee,  in  the  heavens  above,  and  on  the 
earth  beneath,  thon  who  keepest  the  covenant  and 
the  kindness  for  thy  servants  that  walk  before  thee 
with  all  their  heart ; 

Who  hast  kept  for  thy  servant  David  my  father 
what  thou  hadst  promised  him  ;  and  thou  spokest 
with  thy  mouth,  and  hast  fulfilled  it  with  thy  hand, 
as  it  is  this  day. 

And  now,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  keep  for  thy 
servant  David  my  father  what  thou  hast  spoken  con- 
cerning him,  saying,  There  shall  never  fail  thee  a 
man  in  my  sight  who  sitteth  on  the  throne  of 
Israel ;  if  thy  children  but  take  heed  to  their  way, 
to  walk  before  me  as  thou  hast  walked  before  me. 

And  now,  O  God  of  Israel,  I  pray  thee,  let  thy 
word  be  verified,  which  thou  hast  spoken  unto  thy 
servant  David  my  father. 

For  in  truth  will  God  then  dwell  on  the  earth : 
behold,  the  heavens  and  the  heavens  of  heavens 
cannot  contain  thee :  how  much  less  then  this  house 
that  I  have  built ! 

Yet  wilt  thou  turn  thy  regard  unto  the  prayer  of 
thy  servant,  and  to  his  supplication,  O   Lord  my 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  TEMPLE      97 

God,  to  listen  unto  the  entreaty  and  unto  the  prayer, 
which  thy  servant  prayeth  before  thee  to-day ; 

That  thy  eyes  may  be  open  toward  this  house, 
night  and  day,  toward  the  place  of  which  thou  hast 
said,  My  name  shall  be  there,  that  thou  mayest  listen 
unto  the  prayer  which  thy  servant  shall  pray  at  this 
place. 

And  listen  thou  to  the  supplication  of  thy  ser- 
vant and  of  thy  people  Israel,  which  they  will  pray 
at  this  place ;  and  oh,  do  thou  hear  in  heaven  thy 
dwelling-place ;  and  hear,  and  forgive. 

If  any  man  trespass  against  his  neighbor,  and  an 
oath  be  laid  upon  him  to  cause  him  to  swear,  and 
the  oath  come  before  thy  altar  in  this  house  : 

Then  do  thou  hear  in  heaven,  and  act,  and  judge 
thy  servants,  by  condemning  the  wicked,  to  bring 
his  way  upon  his  head  ;  and  by  justifying  the  right- 
eous, to  give  him  according  to  his  righteousness. 

When  thy  people  Israel  are  struck  down  before 
the  enemy,  because  they  have  sinned  against  thee, 
and  they  return  then  to  thee,  and  confess  thy 
name,  and  pray,  and  make  supplication  unto  thee 
in  this  house : 

Then  do  thou  hear  in  heaven,  and  forgive  the  sin 
of  thy  people  Israel,  and  cause  them  to  return  unto 
the  land  which  thou  hast  given  unto  their  fathers. 

When  the  heavens  be  shut  up,  and  there  be  no 
rain,  because  they  have  sinned  against  thee ;  and 
they  pray  toward  this  place,  and  confess  thy  name, 
and  turn  from  their  sin,  because  thou  hast  afflicted 
them  : 

Then  do  thou  hear  in  heaven,  and  forgive  the  sin 


98  THE    DEDICATION    OF    THE    TEMPLE 

of  thy  servants,  and  of  thy  people  Israel ;  for  thou 
wilt  teach  them  the  good  way  wherein  they  should 
walk  ;  and  give  then  rain  upon  thy  land,  which  thou 
hast  given  to  thy  people  for  an  inheritance. 

If  there  be  famine  in  the  land,  if  there  be  pesti- 
lence, blasting,  mildew,  or  if  there  be  locust,  cater- 
pillar ;  if  their  enemy  besiege  them  in  the  land  in 
their  gates  ;  at  whatsoever  plague,  whatsoever  sick- 
ness: 

What  prayer  and  supplication  soever  be  made  by 
any  man,  of  all  thy  people  Israel,  when  they  shall 
be  conscious  every  man  of  the  plague  of  his  own 
heart,  and  he  then  spread  forth  his  hands  toward 
this  house  : 

Then  do  thou  hear  in  heaven  the  place  of  thy 
dwelling  and  forgive,  and  act,  and  give  to  every 
man  in  accordance  with  all  his  ways,  as  thou  mayest 
know  his  heart ;  for  thou,  thyself  alone,  knowest 
the  heart  of  all  the  children  of  men  ; 

In  order  that  they  may  fear  thee  all  the  days 
that  they  live  on  the  face  of  the  land  which  thou 
hast  given  to  our  fathers. 

But  also  to  the  stranger,  who  is  not  of  thy  people 
Israel,  but  cometh  out  of  a  far-off  country  for  the 
sake  of  thy  name  ; 

For  they  will  hear  of  thy  great  name,  and  of  thy 
strong  hand,  and  of  thy  outstretched  arm  ;  when  he 
will  come  and  pray  at  this  house  : 

Mayest  thou  listen  in  heaven,  the  place  of  thy 
dwelling,  and  do  according  to  all  that  the  stranger 
will  call  on  thee  for  ;  in  order  that  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  may  know  thy  name,  to  fear  thee,  as 


THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  TEMPLE       99 

do  thy  people  Israel ;  and  that  they  may  understand 
that  this  house,  which  I  have  built,  is  called  by  thy 
name. 

If  thy  people  go  out  to  battle  against  their  enemy, 
on  the  way  on  which  thou  mayest  send  them,  and 
they  do  pray  unto  the  Lord  in  the  direction  of  the 
city  which  thou  hast  chosen  and  of  the  house  that 
I  have  built  for  thy  name : 

Then  hear  thou  in  heaven  their  prayer  and  their 
supplication,  and  procure  them  justice. 

If  they  sin  against  thee,  (for  there  is  no  man 
that  may  not  sin)  and  thou  be  angry  with  them, 
and  give  them  up  before  the  enemy,  so  that  their 
captors  carry  them  away  captive  unto  the  land  of 
the  enemy,  be  it  far  or  near  ; 

And  if  they  then  take  it  to  their  heart  in  the  land 
whither  they  have  been  carried  captive,  and  repent, 
and  make  supplication  unto  thee  in  the  land  of 
their  captors,  saying,  We  have  sinned,  and  have 
committed  iniquity,  we  have  acted  wickedly  ; 

And  they  return  unto  thee  with  all  their  heart, 
and  with  all  their  soul,  in  the  land  of  their  enemies, 
who  have  led  them  away  captive,  and  they  pray 
unto  thee  in  the  direction  of  their  land,  which  thou 
hast  given  unto  their  fathers,  of  the  city  which  thou 
hast  chosen,  and  of  the  house  which  I  have  built 
for  thy  name  : 

Then  hear  thou  in  heaven  the  place  of  thy  dwell- 
ing their  prayer  and  their  supplication,  and  procure 
them  justice. 

And  forgive  thy  people  for  what  they  have  sinned 
against  thee,  and  all  their  transgressions  whereby 


100  THE    DEDICATION    OF    THE    TEMPLE 

they  have  transgressed  against  thee,  and  cause 
them  to  find  mercy  before  their  captors,  that  they 
may  have  mercy  on  them  ; 

For  they  are  thy  people,  and  thy  heritage,  whom 
thou  hast  brought  forth  out  of  Egypt,  from  the 
midst  of  the  iron  furnace  ; 

That  thy  eyes  may  be  open  unto  the  supplication 
of  thy  servant,  and  unto  the  supplication  of  thy 
people  Israel,  to  listen  unto  them  in  all  for  which 
they  call  unto  thee  ; 

For  thou  hast  separated  them  unto  thee  as  a  heri- 
tage from  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  as  thou  spok- 
est  by  the  hand  of  Moses  thy  servant,  when  thou 
broughtest  forth  our  fathers  out  of  Egypt,  O  Lord 
Eternal. 

And  it  happened,  that,  when  Solomon  had  made 
an  end  of  praying  all  this  prayer  and  supplication 
unto  the  Lord,  he  arose  from  before  the  altar  of 
the  Lord  from  kneeling  on  his  knees,  with  his  hands 
spread  out  toward  heaven. 

And  he  stood  up  and  blessed  all  the  congregation 
of  Israel,  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 

Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  given  rest  unto 
his  people  Israel,  in  accordance  with  all  that  he 
hath  spoken  :  so  that  there  hath  not  failed  one  word 
of  all  his  good  promise,  which  he  spoke  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  his  servant. 

The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us,  as  he  was  with  our 
fathers ;  oh  may  he  not  leave  us,  nor  forsake  us  ; 

That  he  may  incline  our  heart  unto  him,  to  walk 
in  all  his  ways,  and  to  keep  his  commandments, 
and  his  statutes,  and  his  ordinances,  which  he  com- 
manded our  fathers. 


AZRAEL  101 

And  may  these  my  words,  wherewith  I  have  made 
supplication  before  the  Lord,  be  nigh  unto  the  Lord 
our  God  day  and  night,  that  he  may  maintain  the 
cause  of  his  servant,  and  the  cause  of  his  people 
Israel  in  their  daily  requirements. 

In  order  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  may 
know  that  the  Lord  is  the  true  God,  and  none  else. 

Let  your  heart  therefore  be  entire  with  the  Lord 
your  God,  to  walk  in  his  statutes,  and  to  keep  his 
commandments,  as  at  this  day. 

BIBLE — LEESER'S  TRANSLATION 


40 

AZRAEL 

(From   Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn) 

King  Solomon,  before  his  palace  gate 
At  evening,  on  the  pavement  tessellate 
Was  walking  with  a  stranger  from  the  East, 
Arrayed  in  rich  attire  as  for  a  feast, 
The  mighty  Runjeet-Sing,  a  learned  man, 
And  Rajah  of  the  realms  of  Hindostan. 
And  as  they  walked  the  guest  became  aware 
Of  a  white  figure  in  the  twilight  air, 
Gazing  intent,  as  one  who  with  surprise 
His  form  and  features  seemed  to  recognize; 
And  in  a  whisper  to  the  king  he  said  : 
"  What  is  yon  shape,  that,  pallid  as  the  dead, 
Is  watching  me,  as  if  he  sought  to  trace 
In  the  dim  light  the  features  of  my  face?" 


102  AZRAEL 

The  king  looked,  and  replied  :  "  I  know  him  well ; 
It  is  the  Angel  men  call  Azrael, 
'Tis  the  Death  Angel ;  what  hast  thou  to  fear  ?  " 
And  the  guest  answered:  "Lest  he  should  come 

near, 
And  speak  to  me,  and  take  away  my  breath  ! 
Save  me  from  Azrael,  save  me  from  death  ! 

0  king,  that  hast  dominion  o'er  the  wind, 
Bid  it  arise  and  bear  me  hence  to  Ind." 

The  king  gazed  upward  at  the  cloudless  sky, 

Whispered  a  word,  and  raised  his  hand  on  high, 

And  lo  !  the  signet-ring  of  chrysoprase 

On  his  uplifted  finger  seemed  to  blaze 

With  hidden  fire,  and  rushing  from  the  west 

There  came  a  mighty  wind,  and  seized  the  guest 

And  lifted  him  from  earth,  and  on  they  passed, 

His  shining  garments  streaming  in  the  blast, 

A  silken  banner  o'er  the  walls  upreared, 

A  purple  cloud,  that  gleamed  and  disappeared. 

Then  said  the  Angel,  smiling  :  "If  this  man 

Be  Rajah  Runjeet-Sing  of  Hindostan, 

Thou  hast  done  well  in  listening  to  his  prayer ; 

1  was  upon  my  way  to  seek  him  there." 

H.    W.    LONGFELLOW 


THE    POOLS    OF    SOLOMON  IO3 

THE  POOLS  OF  SOLOMON 

(From   Tancred) 

I  made  great  works:  I  built  myself  houses;  I  planted  my- 
self vineyards: 

I  made  myself  gardens  and  orchards,  and  planted  therein 
tries  of  all  kinds  of  fruit ; 

I  made  myself  pools  of  water,  to  water  therewith  the  forest 
overgrown  with  trees. — Ecclesiastes  ii.  4-6. 

About  an  hour  after  leaving  Bethlehem,  in  a 
secluded  valley,  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  public 
works  of  the  great  Hebrew  kings.  It  is  in  every 
respect  worthy  of  them.  I  speak  of  those  colossal 
reservoirs  cut  out  of  the  native  rock  and  fed  by  a 
single  spring,  discharging  their  waters  into  an 
aqueduct  of  perforated  stone,  which,  until  a  com- 
paratively very  recent  period,  still  conveyed  them 
to  Jerusalem.  They  are  three  in  number,  of  vary- 
ing lengths  from  five  to  six  hundred  feet,  and  almost 
as  broad ;  their  depth  still  undiscovered.  They 
communicate  with  each  other,  so  that  the  water  of 
the  uppermost  reservoir,  flowing  through  the  inter- 
mediate one,  reached  the  third,  which  fed  the 
aqueduct.  They  are  lined  with  a  hard  cement  like 
that  which  coats  the  pyramids,  and  which  remains 
uninjured  ;  and  it  appears  that  hanging  gardens 
once  surrounded  them.  The  Arabs  still  call  these 
reservoirs  the  pools  of  Solomon,  nor  is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  the  tradition.  Tradition,  perhaps 
often  more  faithful  than  written  documents,  is  a 


104  THE    POOLS    OF    SOLOMON 

sure  and  almost  infallible  guide  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  where  there  has  been  no  complicated  variety 
of  historic  incidents  to  confuse  and  break  the 
chain  of  memory ;  where  their  rare  revolutions 
have  consisted  of  an  eruption  once  in  a  thousand 
years  into  the  cultivated  world  ;  where  society  has 
never  been  broken  up,  but  their  domestic  manners 
have  remained  the  same ;  where,  too,  they  revere 
truth,  and  are  rigid  in  its  oral  delivery,  since  that 
is  their  only  means  of  disseminating  knowledge. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  these  reservoirs 
were  the  works  of  Solomon.  This  secluded  valley, 
then,  was  once  the  scene  of  his  imaginative  and 
delicious  life.  Here  were  his  pleasure  gardens ; 
these  slopes  were  covered  with  his  fantastic  terraces, 
and  the  high  places  glittered  with  his  pavilions. 
The  fountain  that  supplied  these  treasured  waters 
was  perhaps  the  "sealed  fountain,"  to  which  he 
compared  his  bride  ;  and  here  was  the  garden 
palace  where  the  charming  Queen  of  Sheba  vainly 
expected  to  pose  the  wisdom  of  Israel,  as  she  held 
at  a  distance  before  the  most  dexterous  of  men  the 
two  garlands  of  flowers,  alike  in  form  and  color, 
and  asked  the  great  king,  before  his  trembling 
court,  to  decide  which  of  the  wreaths  was  the  real 
one. 

They  are  gone,  they  are  vanished — these  deeds 
of  beauty  and  these  words  of  wit  !  The  bright 
and  glorious  gardens  of  the  tiaraed  poet  and  the 
royal  sage,  that  once  echoed  with  his  lyric  voice,  or 
with  the  startling  truths  of  his  pregnant  aphorisms, 
end  in  this  wild  and  solitary  valley. 


THE    POOLS    OF    SOLOMON  105 

Why — what — is  this  desolation  ?  Why  are  there 
no  more  kings,  whose  words  are  the  treasured  wis- 
dom of  countless  ages  and  the  mention  of  whose 
name  to  this  moment  thrills  the  heart  of  the 
Oriental,  from  the  waves  of  the  midland  ocean  to 
the  broad  rivers  of  the  farthest  Ind  ?  Why  are  there 
no  longer  bright-witted  queens  to  step  out  of  their 
Arabian  palaces  and  pay  visits  to  the  gorgeous 
"house  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon,"  or  to  where 
Baalbec,  or  Tadmor  in  the  wilderness,  rose  on  those 
plains  now  strewn  with  the  superb  relics  of  their 
inimitable  magnificence  ? 

And  yet  some  flat-nosed  Frank,  full  of  bustle 
and  puffed  up  with  self-conceit,— a  race  spawned 
perhaps  in  the  morasses  of  some  northern  forest 
hardly  yet  cleared, — talks  of  Progress !  Progress 
to  what,  and  from  whence  ?  Amid  empires  shrivelled 
into  deserts,  amid  the  wrecks  of  great  cities,  a  sin- 
gle column  or  obelisk  of  which  nations  import  for 
the  prime  ornament  of  their  mud-built  capitals, 
amid  arts  forgotten,  commerce  annihilated,  frag- 
mentary literatures  and  populations  destroyed,  the 
European  talks  of  progress,  because,  by  an  ingeni- 
ous application  of  some  scientific  acquirements,  he 
has  established  a  society  which  has  mistaken  com- 
fort for  civilization. 

BENJAMIN    DISRAELI 


Io6         THE  OUEEN  OF  THE  SOUTH 


42 

THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  SOUTH 

(Extract) 

Our  ships  went  forth  from  Sheba's  ports, 

They  sailed  up  Edom's  sea, 
We  passed  the  shores  where  Joktan's  sons 

Roam  wild,  and  fierce,  and  free; 
Where  Elath's  harbor  opens  wide, 

And  then,  in  stately  march, 
Where  Bozrah's  rocks  are  crowned  with  towers, 

And  spanned  by  loftiest  arch. 

We  looked  upon  the  accursed  sea, 

We  breathed  its  sulphurous  breath, 
Where  bleaching  bones,  and  scurf  of  salt, 

Speak  evermore  of  death  ; 
We  crossed,  where  stately  Jordan  flows 

By  many  a  grove  of  palm, 
Where  fragrant  winds  from  Gilead  bring 

Their  gentle  airs  of  balm. 

Then  up  the  vale  whose  rocks  o'erhang 

The  path  of  winter  stream, 
Until  at  last  on  wistful  eyes 

The  towers  of  Zion  gleam  ; 
Where  olives  gray  and  hoar  grow  thick, 

We  saw  the  vision  bright  ; 
The  golden  city,  Home  of  Peace, 

Burst  full  upon  our  sight. 


THE    QUEEN    OF   THE    SOUTH  107 

We  saw  the  thousand  bright-eyed  youths 

In  purple  stiff  with  gold  ; 
We  saw  the  hosts  of  Israel  march, 

Ten  thousand  warriors  bold  ; 
The  chariot  such  as  Pharaoh  owns, 
The  banners  waving  wide, 
The  throne  where  six  proud  lions  stand 

As  guards  on  either  side. 

But  most  where  slopes  the  wide  ascent 

To  where  Jehovah  dwells, 
Where  still  from  choir  of  white-robed  priests 

The  Hallelujah  swells ; 
Where,  clad  in  purple  robes  from  Tyre, 

He  enters  from  the  East, 
The  king,  who  walks  in  glorious  state, 

Half-monarch,  and  half-priest. 

We  met ;  his  eye  glowed  bright  and  free, 

I  heard  his  speech  distil, 
Like  wild  bees'  store  of  crystal  gold, 

And  heart  and  spirit  fill ; 
He  did  not  scorn  my  woman's  thoughts, 

My  passion's  eager  quest; 
His  noblest  words,  his  treasured  lore, 

My  spirit's  cravings  blest. 

I  asked,  "  O  king,  the  nations  bow 

To  Gods  on  many  a  throne, 
And  many  a  name  with  song  and  dance 

As  King  and  Lord  they  own  ; 


108         THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  SOUTH 

But  which  of  all  shall  we  adore 

As  giving  life  and  light, 
What  name  may  best  His  favor  win, 

The  Lord  of  boundless  might  ?  " 

He  answered,  "  Lo  !  the  Lord  is  One, 

Above  the  heaven  He  dwells, 
And  day  to  night  His  power  declares, 

And  night  to  morning  tells ; 
Give  Him  thy  heart :  in  truth  and  love 

Do  thou  His  righteous  will, 
And  He,  thy  Father,  Lord  of  all, 

Shall  all  thy  wish  fulfil!" 

I  asked,  "  O  king,  the  skies  are  drear, 

We  wage  a  fruitless  strife; 
The  heart  is  faint,  the  hands  hang  down, 

We  weary  of  our  life; 
We  toil  in  vain  for  wealth  and  fame, 

We  gather  and  we  waste  ; 
Yet  fail  to  find  the  bread  of  life, 

The  food  the  angels  taste." 

And  he,  "Who  walks  in  light  and  truth, 

Shall  find  the  fount  of  joy, 
The  peace  which  naught  on  earth  can  give, 

No  power  of  man  destroy  ; 
The  child-like  heart,  the  fear  of  God, 

Is  truest  wisdom  found  ; 
And  joy  and  goodness  circle  still 

In  one  unbroken  round." 


THE    QUEEN    OF    THE   SOUTH  109 

I  asked,  "  O  king !  the  ways  of  God, 

They  baffle  and  perplex  ; 
The  evil  prosper,  nothing  comes 

Their  full-fed  souls  to  vex  ; 
The  righteous  perish,  crushed  and  scorned  ; 

Their  life  in  darkness  ends ; 
Is  this  the  order  and  the  truth 

Unerring  counsel  sends  ?  " 

He  answered,  "  Lo,  thou  see'st  as  yet 

The  outskirts  of  His  rule  ; 
He  trains  the  child,  He  forms  the  man 

In  suffering's  varied  school; 
Dire  forms  of  evil  hover  still 

Around  the  proud' s  success, 
And  thoughts  of  trust,  and  hope,  and  peace 

The  righteous  mourner  bless." 

I  asked,  "Yet  once  again,  O  king, 

This  life,  can  it  be  all  ? 
We  toil  and  strive  our  little  day. 

And  then  the  shadows  fall ; 
Have  we  no  goal  to  reach  at  last  ? 

Has  this  wild  sea  no  shore? 
Has  God  no  home  where  wearied  souls 

May  rest  for  evermore  ?" 

And  he,  "  The  things  behind  the  veil 

No  mortal  yet  hath  known  ; 
On  that  far  land  the  shadows  rest 

That  shroud  the  Eternal  Throne ; 


HO  THE    YOUTHFUL    SOLOMON 

Yet  this  we  know,  in  life  or  death, 

His  presence  still  is  there; 
And  where  that  brightness  fills  the  soul, 

Is  joy  beyond  compare." 

So  communed  I,  and  every  word 

Went  straight  to  heart  and  soul, 
Dim  thoughts  made  clear,  and  random  will 

Now  striving  for  the  goal ; 
I  drank  deep  draughts  of  that  clear  fount, 

The  well  of  life  and  truth, 
As  one  new-born  I  went  my  way 

In  gladness,  as  of  youth. 

And  now  the  past  is  past ;  again 

On  Sheba's  coasts  I  dwell, 
And  never  more  my  feet  shall  tread 

Where  Jordan's  flood-streams  swell ; 
Yet  still  the  days  that  then  I  knew 

Are  worth  long  years  to  me, 
And  in  the  visions  of  the  night 

That  princely  form  I  see. 

E.  H.  PLUMPTRE 


43 
THE  YOUTHFUL  SOLOMON 

When  the  Lord  first  appeared  to  the  youthful 
Solomon,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,  He  said  unto 
him,  "Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee." 

And  behold  the  youth  prayed  not  for  silver  or 


THE    AGED    SOLOMON  III 

gold,  for  honor,  fame,  or  long  life.  His  prayer 
was,  "  Grant  me  wisdom  ;"  and  with  her,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Most  High,  he  received  every  felicity  for 
which  he  could  have  prayed. 

To  her  he  dedicated  his  most  beautiful  songs. 
Her  he  recommended  to  the  sons  of  men  as  the 
only  true  source  of  happiness.  As  long  as  he  con- 
tinued faithful  to  her,  he  rejoiced  in  the  blessing 
of  God,  in  the  love  and  admiration  of  men.  And 
it  is  only  through  her  that  his  fame  survives,  and 
has  been  preserved  from  oblivion. 


THE  AGED  SOLOMON 

Luxury,  riches,  and  ambition  perverted  the 
ripened  manhood  of  Solomon  ;  he  forgot  wisdom, 
the  pride  of  his  youth,  and  his  heart  became  lost 
in  the  vortex  of  frivolous  dissipation  and  wicked 

folly. 

Once  as  he  was  walking  in  his  splendid  gardens, 
he  heard  the  conversation  of  the  manifold  creatures 
around  him  ;  for  he  understood  the  language  of 
beast  and  of  bird,  of  tree,  stone,  and  shrub  ;  he 
turned  his  ear,  and  he  listened. 

"  Behold,"  said  the  lily,  "  there  goes  the  king ; 
he  passes  me  in  his  pride,  whilst  I,  in  my  humility, 
am  robed  more  splendidly  than  he." 

And  the  palm  tree  waved  its  boughs,  and  said, 
"There  he  goes;  the  oppressor  of  his  country; 
and  yet  his  vile  flatterers,  in  their  fulsome  songs, 


112  THE   AGED    SOLOMON 

presume  to  compare  him  to  me.  But  where  are 
his  boughs  ?  where  the  fruit  with  which  he  gladdens 
the  hearts  of  men  ?  " 

He  went  on,  and  heard  the  nightingale  sing  to 
her  beloved:  "As  we  love  each  other,  Solomon 
loveth  not — O,  not  one  of  his  sultanas  holds  him 
dear  as  I  do  thee,  my  dearest !  " 

And  the  turtle-dove  cooed  to  her  mate,  "Not 
one  of  his  thousand  wives  would  grieve  for  his  loss, 
as  I  would  for  thine,  my  only  beloved." 

The  enraged  monarch  hastened  his  pace,  and  he 
came  to  the  nest,  where  the  stork  was  teaching  her 
young  to  launch  forth  on  the  adventurous  flight. 

"  What  I  do  for  you,"  said  the  stork  to  its  brood, 
"  King  Solomon  does  not  do  for  his  son  Rehoboam. 
He  does  not  teach  and  exhort  him  ;  therefore  the 
young  prince  will  not  thrive.  Strangers  will  lord 
it  over  his  father's  domains." 

The  king  withdrew  to  his  secret  closet ;  musing, 
he  sat  there  in  silent  grief. 

As  he  sat  there,  sunk  in  painful  reflections,  the 
bride  of  his  youthful  years,  Wisdom,  stood  invisi- 
ble before  him,  and  touched  his  eyelids.  He  fell 
into  a  deep  sleep,  and  had  a  mournful  vision.  He 
saw  the  deputation  of  the  tribes  as  they  stood 
before  his  haughty  son.  He  saw  his  empire  divided 
through  the  silly  answer  of  the  foolish  boy.  He 
saw  ten  of  the  tribes  he  had  oppressed  rebel,  and 
place  a  stranger  on  their  throne.  He  saw  his 
palaces  in  ruins  ;  his  garden  rooted  up  ;  the  city 
destroyed  ;  the  temple  of  the  Lord  in  ashes.  Sud. 
denly  he  awoke  from  his  sleep,  and  terror  seized 
on  his  tremulous  mind. 


Elijah's  interview  113 

When  lo  !  once  more  the  bride  of  his  youth,  the 
guardian  of  his  early  career,  stood  visible  before 
him.  Tears  flowed  from  her  eyes.  She  spoke: 
"Thou  hast  seen  what  hereafter  will  happen. 
Thou  alone  art  the  first  cause  of  all  these  calami- 
ties. But  it  is  not  in  thy  power  to  recall  or  to 
alter  the  past  ;  for  thou  canst  not  bid  the  river  to 
flow  back  to  its  springs,  nor  the  years  of  thy  youth 
to  return.  Thy  soul  is  wearied,  thy  heart  is  ex- 
hausted, and  I,  the  forsaken  of  thy  youth,  can  no 
more  be  thy  companion  in  the  land  of  terrestrial 
life." 

With  pity  in  her  looks,  she  vanished ;  and 
Solomon,  who  had  crowned  his  youthful  days  with 
roses,  wrote  in  his  old  age  a  book  on  the  vanity  of 
all  human  affairs  on  earth. 

THE  HEBREW  REVIEW 

Talmudic  Allegories 


44 
ELIJAH'S    INTERVIEW 

1  Kings  xix.  11-13. 

On  Horeb's  rock  the  prophet  stood, — 

The  Lord  before  him  passed  ; 
A  hurricane  in  angry  mood 

Swept  by  him  strong  and  fast ; 
The  forest  fell  before  its  force, 
The  rocks  were  shivered  in  its  course, 

God  was  not  in  the  blast  ; 
'Twas  but  the  whirlwind  of  his  breath, 
Announcing  danger,  wreck,  and  death. 


H4  Elijah's  interview 

It  ceased.     The  air  grew  mute, — a  cloud 

Came  muffling  up  the  sun  ; 
When  through  the  mountain,  deep  and  loud, 

An  earthquake  thundered  on  ; 
The  frighted  eagle  sprang  in  air, 
The  wolf  ran  howling  from  his  lair, — 

God  was  not  in  the  storm  ; — 
'Twas  but  the  rolling  of  his  car, — 
The  trampling  of  his  steeds  from  far. 

'Twas  still  again, — and  Nature  stood 

And  calmed  her  ruffled  frame  ; 
When  swift  from  heaven  a  fiery  flood 

To  earth  devouring  came  ; 
Down  to  the  depth  the  ocean  fled, — 
The  sick'ning  sun  looked  wan  and  dead, 

Yet  God  filled  not  the  flame  ;— 
'Twas  but  the  terror  of  his  eye, 
That  lightened  through  the  troubled  sky. 

At  last  a  voice,  all  still  and  small, 

Rose  sweetly  on  the  ear  ; 
Yet  rose  so  shrill  and  clear,  that  all 

In  heaven  and  earth  might  hear. 
It  spoke  of  peace,  it  spoke  of  love, 
It  spoke  as  angels  speak  above, 

And  God  himself  was  there! 
For  O,  it  was  a  Father's  voice 
That  bade  the  trembling  heart  rejoice! 

CAMPBELL 


ELIJAH  115 


45 

ELIJAH 

Elijah  was  of  a  fiery  spirit;  and  with  a  spirit  of 
fire  he  performed  his  prophetic  office.  He  called 
flames  down  from  heaven,  and  consumed  his  own 
life  in  his  zeal. 

Weary  and  exhausted,  he  withdrew  from  the 
haunts  of  men  ;  in  the  dreary  desert  he  threw  him- 
self under  a  juniper  tree,  and  sighed,  "It  is  enough! 
Now,  O  Lord,  take  my  soul  unto  thee." 

And  an  angel  of  the  Lord  strengthened  him; 
and  he  reached  the  mountain  of  Horeb,  where  the 
Lord  removed  the  burden  of  his  prophetic  calling 
off  his  shoulders,  and  directed  him  to  anoint 
another  in  his  stead. 

And  when,  with  the  anointed  Elisha,  Elijah  came 
to  the  river  Jordan,  a  fiery  chariot  and  fiery  horses 
appeared;  the  two  companions  were  separated,  and 
Elijah  ascended  to  the  throne. 

The  first  who  appeared  to  him  in  the  regions  of 
bliss  was  Moses,  his  prototype.  1  fe  reached  Elijah 
his  right  hand,  through  the  purifying  flames  of  the 
fiery  chariot,  and  said  to  him,  "  Thou  hast  been 
zealous,  my  brother,  thy  zeal  has  been  ardent,  and 
thou  hast  suffered  much  from  thy  brethren,  I  too 
have  suffered  the  like  ;  still  I  prayed  for  their  pre- 
servation, and  offered  my  soul  as  a  ransom  for 
theirs.      Nevertheless,  approach  the  throne  of  the 


Il6  ELIJAH 

Judge,  the  All-merciful."  With  trembling  steps 
Elijah  advanced  to  the  cloud  of  the  throne. 

"What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah  ?"  demanded  a 
voice  from  out  of  the  throne.  He  answered,  "I 
have  been  very  zealous  for  the  Lord  God  of 
Hosts  ;  for  Israel  have  forsaken  thy  covenant, 
thrown  down  thy  altars,  and  slain  thy  prophets  with 
the  sword  ;  I,  only  I,  was  left,  and  they  sought  my 
life  to  take  it  away." 

And  a  fire  went  forth  from  the  clouds  ;  but  the 
Lord  was  not  in  the  fire.  And  a  wind  went  forth 
from  the  cloud  ;  strong  and  irresistible,  it  rent  the 
mountains,  and  brake  in  pieces  the  rocks  ;  but  the 
Lord  was  not  in  the  wind. 

The  wind  and  the  fire  had  passed,  when  a  still 
small  voice  was  heard.  A  sensation  never  before 
experienced  penetrated  the  prophet,  and  the  flame 
of  his  spirit  became  chastened  like  the  radiance  of 
dawn. 

"Rest  thou  here,"  said  the  voice,  "repose  and 
gain  new  vigor  after  thy  toils ;  for  the  Lord  is 
merciful  and  benevolent.  Thou  shalt  often  again 
descend  to  the  sons  of  men  ;  thou  shalt  teach,  but 
with  mild  kindness;  thou  shalt  console  and  aid 
them  with  thy  love,  nor  longer  punish  them  in  thy 
zeal :  for  the  Lord  is  gracious." 

And  often  since  then  has  Elijah  visited  mankind, 
but  in  a  different  spirit  from  that  which  animated 
him  during  his  earthly  sojourn.  What  before  was 
ardent  jealousy,  is  now  loving  kindness  ;  what  was 
fiery  zeal  is  now  mildness  and  benevolence.  Invis- 
ible, or  in  an  assumed  shape,  he  guides  the  conver- 


Oil!     WEEP    FOR   THOSE  117 

sation  of  those  who  seek  true  wisdom,  and  unites 
their  souls.  He  it  is  who  turns  the  hearts  of  the 
fathers  to  their  children,  and  the  hearts  of  the 
children  to  their  parents.  Harbinger  of  good,  he 
aids  the  righteous  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  is 
ever  present  to  solace  and  strengthen  those  who 
pray. 

His  office  is  to  proclaim  to  mankind  the  coming 
of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord. 

THE    HEBREW    REVIEW 

Talmudic  Allegory 


46 

OH  !  WEEP  FOR  THOSE 

Oh  !  weep  for  those  that  wept  by  Babel's  stream, 
Whose  shrines  are  desolate,  whose  land  a  dream  ; 
Weep  for  the  harp  of  Judah's  broken  shell  ; 
Mourn — where  their  God  has  dwelt  the  Godless 
dwell  ! 

And  where  shall  Israel  lave  her  bleeding  feet  ? 
And  where  shall  Zion's  songs  again  seem  sweet  ? 
And  Judah's  melody  once  more  rejoice 
The  hearts  that  leap'd  before  its  heavenly  voice? 

Tribes  of  the  wandering  foot  and  weary  breast, 
How  shall  ye  flee  away  and  be  at  rest ! 
The  wild-dove  hath  her  nest,  the  fox  his  cave, 
Mankind  their  country — Israel  but  the  grave. 

LORD    BYRON 


1 1 8  THE    JEWISH    CAPTIVE 

47 
THE  JEWISH  CAPTIVE 

Lo  !  where  Euphrates,  in  his  tranquil  bed, 
Scarce  swells  his  heaving  bosom  to  the  light, 

While  from  the  west  a  thousand  hues  are  shed, 
To  deck  his  waters,  ere  the  sombre  night 

Shall  on  his  gorgeous  palaces  come  clown, 

And  shroud  each  glory  in  his  darkened  frown. 

Forth  from  a  marble  fount  the  waters  splash, 
And  twinkle  down  in  many  a  mimic  fall — 

That  ever  in  the  light  like  diamonds  flash  ; 
And  in  their  melody  they  seem  to  call 

To  old  Euphrates,  as  he  wanders  by, 

And  spreads  his  waters  to  the  golden  sky. 

A  group  of  maidens  by  the  willows  bend, 
And  weave  their  tresses  by  the  twilight  sky, 

While  ever  on  the  air  glad  voices  blend, 
And  many  a  song  and  laugh  are  floating  by 

To  mingle  with  the  sound  of  chiming  waters, 

That  lave  the  feet  of  dark-eyed  Syrian  daughters. 

"  Lo  !  here,"  cries  one,  "the  captive  Mara  tends, — 
Mara,  the  Jewess,  queenlike  in  her  woe  ; 

Though  many  a  victor  to  her  beauty  bends, 
The  smile  no  more  her  gentle  lips  may  know. 

Not  for  her  own  she  weeps,  but  Judah's  wrongs, 

And  pours  her  sorrows  in  their  mystic  songs. 


THE   JEWISH    CAPTIVE  1 19 

"Didst  ever  hear  the  music  strange  and  high, 
The    Jewish    captives    from    their    harp-strings 
bring, 

While  Zion-ward  they  turn  the  kindling  eye  ? 
Mara,  approach  ;  we  fain  would  hear  thee  sing 

A  song  of  Zion — such  as  once  ye  sang 

When  Jordan's  waters  to  the  music  rang." 

The  captive  flung  her  tresses  from  her  brow, 
And  upward  raised  her  dark  and  tearless  eye — 

Clasped  her  pale  hands  in  agony  of  woe, 

And  heaved   her  breast  with  many  a  smothered 
sigh  ; 

Quick  thronging  visions  o'er  her  spirit  passed — 

She  lived  ao-ain  where  childhood's  lot  was  cast. 


*&>" 


Lo  !  sad  Judea's  vine-clad  hills  are  there 

And  fruitful  Jordan,  with  its  many  streams, — 

Proud  Lebanon,  with  cedars  tall  and  fair,— 
And,  midst  her  desolation,  sadly  gleams 

Lone  Zion,  widowed,  childless,  and  oppressed, 

A  Rachel  for  her  first-born  son  distressed. 

There,  'neath  a  cottage,  where  the  trailing  vine 
In  many  a  festoon  o'er  the  lattice  clings, 

An  ancient  matron  seems  alone  to  pine, 

And  calls  her  children,  while  her  arms  she  flings, 

To  clasp  the  shadows  that  her  fancies  raise, 

The  cherished  offspring  of  her  happier  days. 

But  what  is  grief  like  hers — that  matron  old, 
Who  spreads  her  white  locks  to  the  evening  sky, 


120  THE   JEWISH    CAPTIVE 

When  Zion  stands  bereft — her  altars  cold  ! 

And  all  her  exiled  children  turn  their  eye 
To  where  the  happier  swallow  builds  her  nest, 
And  in  the  courts  of  God  has  found  her  rest. 

O'er  Mara's  soul  the  power  of  music  rushed, — 
Her  harp  the  maidens  from  the  willows  bring  : 

Forth  from  her   lips  high  thoughts   and  feelings 
gushed, 
"  How  can  I  Zion's  songs,  a  captive,  sing  ? 

How  sing  of  Jordan,  here  by  Babel's  strand  ? 

How  sing  of  Judah,  in  this  dark,  strange  land  ? 

Oh  Zion  !  if  I  cease  for  thee 

My  earliest  vows  to  pay — 
If  for  thy  sad  and  ruined  walls 

I  ever  cease  to  pray — ■ 
If  I  no  more  thy  sacred  courts 

With  holy  reverence  prize, 
Or  Zion-ward  shall  cease  to  turn 

My  ever-longing  eyes — 
Or  if  the  splendor  round  me  thrown 

Shall  touch  this  Jewish  heart, 
And  make  me  cease  to  prize  thy  joy 

Above  all  other  art, — ■ 
Oh  !  may  this  hand  no  more  with  skill 

E'er  touch  this  sacred  string, 
And  may  this  tongue  grow  cold  in  death, 

Ere  I  shall  cease  to  sing 
And  pray  for  Zion's  holy  courts, 

Or  dare  to  bow  the  knee 
To  these  poor,  blind  and  helpless  gods, 

Forgetful,  Lord,  of  thee." 

ELIZABETH    OAKES   SMITH 


IDOLATRY  121 

48 

IDOLATRY 

Isaiah  xliv.  12-20. 

The  iron-smith  maketh  an  axe  and  worketh  it 
in  the  coals,  and  with  hammers  he  fashioneth  it  and 
worketh  it  with  his  powerful  arm  ;  he  also,  when  he 
is  hungry,  loseth  his  strength  ;  when  he  drinketh 
no  water,  he  becometh  faint. 

The  worker  in  wood  stretcheth  out  the  rule  ;  he 
marketh  it  out  with  chalk  ;  he  fitteth  it  with  planes, 
— and  he  marketh  it  out  with  the  compass,  and 
maketh  it  after  the  figure  of  a  man,  after  the  beauty 
of  a  child  of  earth,  that  it  may  dwell  in  a  house. 

He  felleth  for  himself  cedars,  and  taketh  cypress 
and  oak,  and  he  chooseth  for  himself  the  strongest 
among  the  trees  of  the  forest ;  he  planteth  an  ash, 
and  the  rain  causeth  it  to  grow. 

Then  doth  it  serve  a  man  for  burning ;  and  he 
taketh  thereof,  and  warmeth  himself ;  he  also 
heateth  therewith,  and  baketh  bread  ;  he  also  work- 
eth out  a  god,  and  boweth  himself ;  he  maketh  of 
it  an  image,  and  kneeleth  down  thereto. 

The  half  thereof  hath  he  burnt  in  fire  ;  with  the 
half  thereof  will  he  eat  flesh  ;  he  will  roast  food, 
and  be  satisfied ;  he  will  also  warm  himself,  and  say, 
Aha !  I  am  warm,  I  have  felt  the  fire  : 

And  the  residue  thereof  hath  he  made  into  a 
god,  his  graven  image ;  he  kneeleth  down  unto  it, 
and  boweth  himself,  and  prayeth  unto  it  ;  and  saith, 
Deliver  me  ;  for  my  god  art  thou. 


122  THE    FALSE    GODS 

They  know  not,  they  understand  not ;  for  their 
eyes  are  daubed  over,  that  they  cannot  see  ;  their 
hearts,  that  they  cannot  understand. 

And  he  layeth  it  not  to  heart,  and  hath  no  knowl- 
edge, no  understanding  to  say,  The  half  thereof 
have  I  burnt  in  fire  ;  and  I  have  also  baked  upon 
its  coals  bread  ;  I  now  will  roast  flesh,  and  eat  it  ; 
and  shall  I  make  of  its  residue  an  abomination, 
before  a  block  of  wood  shall  I  kneel  ? 

He  pursueth  ashes  ;  a  deceived  heart  hath  turned 
him  aside  ;  and  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  and  will 
not  say,  is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand  ? 

BIBLE — LEESER'S  TRANSLATION 


49 
THE  FALSE  GODS 

(From  Paradise  Lost) 

First  Moloch,  horrid  king,  besmeared  with  blood 
Of  human  sacrifice,  and  parents'  tears ; 
Though,  for  the  noise  of  drums  and  timbrels  loud, 
Their  children's  cries  unheard,  that  passed  through 

fire 
To  his  grim  idol.     Him  the  Ammonite 
Worshipped  in  Rabba  and  her  watery  plain, 
In  Argob  and  in  Basan,  to  the  stream 
Of  utmost  Anion.     Nor  content  with  such 
Audacious  neighborhood,  the  wisest  heart 
Of  Solomon  he  led  by  fraud  to  build 
His  temple  right  against  the  temple  of  God 
On  that  opprobrious  hill,  and  made  his  grove 


THE    FALSE    GODS  123 

The  pleasant  valley  of  Hinnom,  Tophet  thence 
And  black  Gehenna  called,  the  type  of  Hell. 
Next  Chemos,  the  obscene  dread  of  Moab's  sons, 
From  Aroar  to  Nebo  and  the  wild 
Of  southmost  Abarim  ;  in  Hesebon 
And  Horonaim,  Scon's  realm,  beyond 
The  flowery  dale  of  Sibma  clad  with  vines, 
And  Eleale  to  the  Asphaltic  Pool  : 
Peor  his  other  name,  when  he  enticed 
Israel  in  Sittim,  on  their  march  from  Nile,' 
To  do  him  wanton  rites,  which  cost  them  woe. 
Yet  thence  his  lustful  orgies  he  enlarged 
Even  to  that  hill  of  scandal,  by  the  grove 
Of  Moloch  homicide,  lust  hard  by  hate, 
Till  good  Josiah  drove  them  thence  to  Hell. 
With  these  came  they  who,   from   the  bordering 
flood 

Of  old  Euphrates  to  the  brook  that  parts 
Egypt  from  Syrian  ground,  had  general  names 
Of  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth — those  male, 
These  feminine.     For  spirits,  when  they  please, 
Can  either  sex  assume,  or  both  ;  so  soft 
And  uncompounded  is  their  essence  pure, 
Not  tied  or  manacled  with  joint  or  limb, 
Nor  founded  on  the  brittle  strength  of  bones, 
Like   cumbrous    flesh  ;   but,   in  what   shape   they 
choose, 

Dilated  or  condensed,  bright  or  obscure, 
Can  execute  their  aery  purposes, 
And  works  of  love  or  enmity  fulfil. 


124  THE   FALSE    GODS 

For  those  the  race  of  Israel  oft  forsook 

Their  Living  Strength,  and  unfrequented  left 

His  righteous  altar,  bowing  lowly  down 

To  bestial  gods  ;  for  which  their  heads,  as  low 

Bowed  down  in  battle,  sunk  before  the  spear 

Of  despicable  foes.     With  these  in  troop 

Came  Astoreth,  whom  the  Phoenicians  called 

Astarte,  queen  of  heaven,  with  crescent  horns  ; 

To  whose  bright  image  nightly  by  the  moon 

Sidonian  virgins  paid  their  vows  and  songs  ; 

In  Sion  also  not  unsung,  where  stood 

Her  temple  on  the  offensive  mountain,  built 

By  that  uxorious  king  whose  heart,  though  large, 

Beguiled  by  fair  idolatresses,  fell 

To  idols  foul.     Thammuz  came  next  behind, 

Whose  annual  wound  in  Lebanon  allured 

The  Syrian  damsels  to  lament  his  fate 

In  amorous  ditties  all  a  summer's  day, 

While  smooth  Adonis  from  his  native  rock 

Ran  purple  to  the  sea,  supposed  with  blood 

Of  Thammuz  yearly  wounded  :  the  love-tale 

Infected  Sion's  daughters  with  like  heat, 

Whose  wanton  passions  in  the  sacred  porch 

Ezekiel  saw,  when,  by  the  vision  led, 

His  eye  surveyed  the  dark  idolatries 

Of  alienated  Judah.     Next  came  one 

Who  mourned  in  earnest,  when  the  captive  ark 

Maimed  his  brute  image,  head  and  hands  lopt  off 

In  his  own  temple,  on  the  grunsel-edge, 

Where  he  fell  flat,  and  shamed  his  worshippers  : 

Dagon  his  name,  sea-monster,  upward  man 

And  downward  fish  ;  yet  had  his  temple  high 


THE    FALSE    GODS  125 

Reared  in  Azotus,  dreaded  through  the  coast 
Of  Palestine,  in  Gath,  and  Ascalon, 

And  Accaron,  and  Gaza's  frontier  bounds. 

Him  followed  Rimmon,  whose  delightful  seat 

Was  fair  Damascus,  on  the  fertile  banks 

Of  Abbanaand  Pharphar,  lucid  streams. 

He  also  against  the  house  of  God  was  bold  : 

A  leper  once  he  lost,  and  gained  a  king— 

Ahaz,  his  sottish  conqueror,  whom  he  drew 

God's  altar  to  disparage,  and  displace 

For  one  of  Syrian  mode,  whereon  to  burn 

His  odious  offerings,  and  adore  the  gods 

Whom  he  had  vanquished.     After  these  appeared 

A  crew  who,  under  names  of  old  renown — 

Osiris,  Isis,  Orus,  and  their  train — 

With  monstrous  shapes  and  sorceries  abused 

Fanatic  Egypt  and  her  priests  to  seek 

Their  wandering  gods  disguised  in  brutish  forms 

Rather  than  human.     Nor  did  Israel  scape 

The  infection,  when  their  borrowed  gold  composed 

The  calf  in  Oreb ;  and  the  rebel  king 

Doubled  that  sin  in  Bethel  and  in  Dan, 

Likening  his  Maker  to  the  grazed  ox — 

Jehovah,  who,  in  one  night,  when  he  passed 

From  Egypt  marching,  equalled  with  one  stroke 

Both  her  first-born,  and  all  her  bleating  gods. 

JOHN  MILTON 


126  THE    CAPTIVITY 


50 

THE  CAPTIVITY 

(From  Bible  Characters) 

Humanly  speaking,  what  chance  was  there  that 
Israelites  or  Jews  would  unlearn  idolatry  at  Baby- 
lon ?  Why,  what  had  all  their  idolatry  come  of  ? 
Imitation.  Under  the  early  Judges  they  could  not, 
as  a  nation,  withstand  the  example  of  a  few  con- 
cpiered  idolaters  who  worshipped  false  gods  in 
groves  for  want  of  temples.  In  the  height  of  their 
glory  their  wisest  king  was  decoyed  into  idolatry 
by  the  example  of  his  intellectual  inferiors,  his 
wives  and  concubines.  Imitation  and  example  set 
them  bowing  at  one  time  to  a  contemptible  fish- 
god;  at  another  to  a  fiend  whose  worship  entailed 
the  burning  of  their  children.  Now,  at  Babylon 
idolatry  was  example  and  authority  into  the  bargain. 
At  Babylon  idolatry  was  glorious,  sublime ;  had 
every  charm  and  seduction  to  win  the  sensual 
understanding  and  divert  it  from  the  unseen  God. 

If  you  and  I  and  an  archangel  had  been  endowed 
with  absolute  power,  but  left  to  our  own  wisdom, 
human  and  angelic,  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
that  archangel  nor  you  nor  I  should  have  sent  the 
Hebrews  to  Babylon  to  unlearn  idolatry ;  so  wide 
and  impassable  is  the  gulf  between  the  sagacity  of 
created  beings  and  the  genuine  prescience  that 
marks  their  Creator — for  constant  prescience  im- 
plies omniscience.     Babylon,  bright  centre  of  cap- 


THE    CAPTIVITY'  \2J 

tivating  idolatry,  commenced  an  everlasting  cure 
of  Jewish  idolatry,  which  punishments,  blessings, 
miracles,  could  never  effect  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan  

Meantime,  "sweet  were  the  uses  of  adversity." 
The  captivity  roused  great  examples  of  faith,  re- 
vived the  necessity  for  miracles — and  so  miracles 
came — re-awakened  the  lyre  of  Judah,  which  had 
slept  since  the  days  of  David,  and  stirred  up  the 
noblest  army  of  prophets  that  ever  preached  in 
any  period  of  Hebrew  story. 

.  .  .  .  Ere  long  that  impregnable  city,  Baby- 
lon, falsified  its  past  history,  defied  all  human 
probability,  and  bowed  to  Hebrew  prophecy.      .     . 

Cyrus,  descendant  of  the  conqueror,  had  no 
sooner  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Persia,  to  which 
Babylon  and  Palestine  were  now  equally  subject, 
than  he  issued  a  most  remarkable  edict  ;  he  alleged 
Divine  inspiration,  and  by  order  of  the  Most  High 
- — as  he  declared — invited  the  Jews  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  and  build  the  Temple  to  Him  whom  he, 
Cyrus,  proclaimed  to  be  the  true  God.  He  restored 
to  the  Jews  their  sacred  vessels,  and  assisted  them 
with  his  vast  resources. 

.  .  .  .  When  the  returned  captives  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  new  Temple,  there  came  a  touch 
of  nature  which  never,  whilst  books  endure,  shall 
pass  from  the  memory  of  mankind.  The  young 
and  the  middle-aged  praised  God  with  "shouts  <>t 
joy ;  but  many  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  who 
were  ancient  men,  and  had  seen  the  first  Temple 
in  its  glory,  wept  with  a  loud  voice  ;  so  that  such 


128  BY   THE   RIVERS    OF   BABYLON 

as  stood  apart  could  not  discern  the  noise  of  the 
shouts  of  joy  from  the  noise  of  the  wailing  of 
those  aged  men. 

Yet  the  leaders  of  the  heathen  nations  that 
were  settled  in  Judea  baffled  this  good  work  by 
their  intrigues  for  twenty-one  years,  and  then  at 
last  the  Temple  was  built  and  dedicated. 

CHARLES    READE 

BY  THE  RIVERS  OF  BABYLON  WE 
SAT  DOWN  AND  WEPT 

We  sat  down  and  wept  by  the  waters 
Of  Babel,  and  thought  of  the  day 

When  our  foe  in  the  hue  of  his  slaughters, 
Made  Salem's  high  places  his  prey  ; 

And  ye,  oh  her  desolate  daughters  ! 
Were  scatter'd  all  weeping  away. 

While  sadly  we  gazed  on  the  river 
Which  roll'd  on  in  freedom  below, 

They  demanded  the  song  ;  but,  oh  never 
That  triumph  the  stranger  shall  know  ! 

May  this  right  hand  be  wither'd  forever, 
Ere  it  string  our  high  harp  for  the  foe  ! 

On  the  willow  that  harp  is  suspended, 
Oh  Salem !  its  sound  should  be  free  ; 

And  the  hour  when  thy  glories  were  ended 
But  left  me  that  token  of  thee  : 

And  ne'er  shall  its  soft  tones  be  blended 
With  the  voice  of  the  spoiler  by  me. 

LORD    BYRON 


BUT    WHO    SHALL    SEE  120, 

52 

BUT  WHO  SHALL  SEE 
But  who  shall  see  the  glorious  day 

When,  throned  on  Zion's  brow, 
The  Lord  shall  rend  that  veil  away 

Whieh  hides  the  nations  now  ? 
When  earth  no  more  beneath  the  fear 

Of  his  rebuke  shall  lie ; 
When  pain  shall  cease,  and  every  tear 

Be  wiped  from  every  eye. 

Then,  Judah,  thou  no  more  shalt  mourn 

Beneath  the  heathen's  chain  ; 
Thy  days  of  splendor  shall  return, 

And  all  be  new  again. 
The  Fount  of  Life  shall  then  be  quaff'd 

In  peace  by  all  who  come  ! 
And  every  wind  that  blows  shall  waft 

Some  long-lost  exile  home  ! 

THOMAS    MOORE 

53 
A  PRAYER  OF  TOBIAS 

Tobit  xiii. 

Bless'd  be  that  King,  Which  evermore  shall  reign, 
So  ever  may  His  Kingdom  blessed  be ! 
Which  punisheth  and  pitieth  again, 
Which  sends  to  hell  and  likewise  setteth  free ; 
Before  Whose  Presence  may  no  creature  stand, 
Nor  anything  avoid  His  heavy  Hand. 


I30  A    PRAYER    OF    TOBIAS 

Ye  children  of  His  chosen  Israel, 
Before  the  Gentiles  still  confess  His  Name, 
With  whom  He  hath  appointed  you  to  dwell, 
Even  there,  I  say,  extol  and  laud  His  fame  : 
He  is  a  Lord  and  God  most  gracious, 
And  still  hath  been  a  Father  unto  us. 

He  will  scourge  us  for  our  iniquity  ; 
Yet  mercy  will  He  take  on  us  again, 
And  from  those  nations  gathered  shall  we  be, 
With  whom  as  strangers  now  we  do  remain, 
If  in  your  hearts  He  shall  repentance  find, 
And  turn  to  Him  with  zeal  and  willing  mind. 

When  as  your  dealings  shall  be  found  upright, 
Then  will  He  turn  His  Face  from  you  no  more, 
Nor  thenceforth  hide  His  Presence  from  your  sight, 
But  lend  His  mercy  then,  laid  up  in  store ; 
Therefore  confess  His  Name,  and  praises  sing 
To  that  most  Great  and  Highest  Heavenly  King. 

I  will  confess  Him  in  captivity, 

And  to  a  wicked  people  show  His  might : 

0  turn  to  Him,  vile  sinners  that  you  be, 
And  do  the  thing  is  upright  in  His  sight ! 

Who's  there  can  tell  if  He  will  mercy  show 
Or  take  compassion  on  you,  yea  or  no  ? 

1  will  extol  and  laud  Thy  Name  always, 

My  soul,  the  praise  of  Heaven's  King  express  ; 
All  tongues  on  earth  shall  spread  abroad  His  praise, 
All  nations  show  forth  His  righteousness  ; 
Jerusalem,  thou  shalt  be  scourged  then, 
But  He  will  spare  the  sons  of  righteous  men. 


A    PRAYER   OF    TOBIAS  131 

Fail  not  to  give  the  Lord  His  praises  due, 
And  still  extol  that  Everlasting  King  ; 
And  help  to  build  His  tabernacle  new, 
In  which  His  saints  shall  ever  sit  and  sing, 
In  which  the  captives  shall  have  end  of  grief, 
In  which  the  poor  shall  ever  find  relief. 

Many  shall  come  from  countries  far  and  near, 
And  shall  great  gifts  unto  His  Presence  bring; 
Many  before  His  Presence  shall  appear 
And  shall  rejoice  in  this  Great  Heavenly  King  : 
Cursed  be  those  which  hate  Thy  Blessed  Name, 
But  bless'd  be  those  which  love  and  like  the  same. 

Triumph  with  joy,  ye  that  be  good  and  just ; 
Though  scatter'd  now,  yet  shall  ye  gathered  be ; 
Then  in  the  Lord  fix  all  your  hope  and  trust, 
And  rest  in  peace  till  you  these  blessings  see  : 
Blessed  be  those  which  have  been  touch'd  with 

grief, 
When  they  have  seen   thee  scourg'd  and  want 
relief. 

Those  only  shall  rejoice  with  thee  again, 
And  those  shall  be  partakers  of  thy  glory, 
And  shall  in  bliss  for  aye  with  thee  remain, 
Now  passed  once  these  troubles  transitory  : 
Then,  O  my  soul,  see  thou  rejoice  and  sing, 
And  laud  the  Great  and  Highest  Heavenly  King. 

And  He  will  build  Jerusalem  full  fair 
With  emeralds  and  with  sapphires  of  great  price ; 
With  precious  stones  He  will  her  walls  repair, 
Her  towers  of  gold  with  work  of  rare  device  ; 


132  VISION    OF    BELSHAZZAR 

And  all  her  streets  with  beryl  will  He  pave, 
With  carbuncles  and  ophirs  passing  brave  : 

And  all  her  people  there  shall  sit  and  say, 
Praised  be  God  with  Alleluiah  ! 

MICHAEL    DRAYTON 


54 
VISION  OF  BELSHAZZAR 

The  King  was  on  his  throne, 

The  Satraps  throng'd  the  hall ; 
A  thousand  bright  lamps  shone 

O'er  that  high  festival. 
A  thousand  cups  of  gold, 

In  Judah  deemed  divine — 
Jehovah's  vessels  hold 

The  godless  Heathen's  wine  ! 

In  that  same  hour  and  hall 

The  fingers  of  a  hand 
Came  forth  against  the  wall, 

And  wrote  as  if  on  sand  : 
The  fingers  of  a  man  ; — 

A  solitary  hand 
Among  the  letters  ran, 

And  traced  them  like  a  wand. 

The  monarch  saw,  and  shook, 
And  bade  no  more  rejoice  ; 

All  bloodless  wax'd  his  look, 
And  tremulous  his  voice. 


VISION    OF    BELSHAZZAR  133 

"  Let  the  men  of  lore  appear, 

The  wisest  of  the  earth, 
And  expound  the  words  of  fear, 

Which  mar  our  royal  mirth." 

Chaldea's  seers  are  good, 

But  here  they  have  no  skill  ; 
And  the  unknown  letters  stood 

Untold  and  awful  still. 
And  Babel's  men  of  age 

Are  wise  and  deep  in  lore  ; 
But  now  they  were  not  sage, 

They  saw — but  knew  no  more. 

A  captive  in  the  land, 

A  stranger  and  a  youth, 
He  heard  the  king's  command, 

He  saw  that  writing's  truth. 
The  lamps  around  were  bright, 

The  prophecy  in  view ; 
He  read  it  on  that  night, — 

The  morrow  proved  it  true. 

"Belshazzar's  grave  is  made, 

His  kingdom  pass'd  away, 
He,  in  the  balance  weigh'd, 

Is  light  and  worthless  clay, 
The  shroud,  his  robe  of  state, 

His  canopy  the  stone  ; 
The  Mede  is  at  his  gate  ! 

The  Persian  on  his  throne  !" 

LORD    BYRON 


134  BELSHAZZAR 

55 

BELSHAZZAR 

Belshazzar  is  king  !  Belshazzar  is  lord  ! 

And  a  thousand  dark  nobles  all  bend  at  his  board  ; 

Fruits  glisten,  flowers  blossom,  meats  steam,  and  a 

flood 
Of  the  wine  that  man  loveth  runs  redder  than  blood; 
Wild  dancers  are  there,  and  a  riot  of  mirth, 
And    the  beauty   that  maddens    the  passions   of 

earth ; 
And  the  crowds  all  shout,  till  the  vast  roofs  ring — 
All  praise  to  Belshazzar,  Belshazzar  the  king !" 

"Bring  forth,"  cries  the  monarch,  "the  vessels  of 

gold, 
Which  my  father  tore  clown  from  the  temples  of  old  ; 
Bring  forth,  and  we'll   drink,  while  the  trumpets 

are  blown, 
To  the  gods  of  bright  silver,  of  gold,  and  of  stone  ; 
Bring  forth  !  "  and  before  him  the  vessels  all  shine, 
And  he  bows  unto  Baal,  and  he  drinks  the  dark 

wine, 
While  the  trumpets  bray,  and  the  cymbals  ring,- 
"  Praise,  praise  to  Belshazzar,  Belshazzar  the  king  !  " 

Now  what  cometh — look,  look  ! — without  menace 

or  call  ? 
Who  writes  with  the  lightning's  bright  hand  on 

the  wall  ? 


EZEKIEL  135 

What  pierccth  the  king  like  the  point  of  a  dart  ? 
What  drives  the  bold  blood  from  his  cheek  to  his 

heart  ? 
"  Chaldeans  !  Magicians !  the  letters  expound  !  " 
They   are  read, — and    Belshazzar   is  dead  on  the 

ground  ! 
I  lark  !— The  Persian  is  come  on  a  conqueror's  wing; 
And  a  Mede's  on  the  throne  of  Belshazzar  the  king. 

b.   w.   PROCTOR 


56 
EZEKIEL 

Ezekiel  xxxiii.  30-33. 

They  hear  Thee  not,  O  God !  nor  see  ; 

Beneath  Thy  rod  they  mock  at  Thee ; 

The  princes  of  our  ancient  line 

Lie  drunken  with  Assyrian  wine ; 

The  priests  around  Thy  altar  speak 

The  false  words  which  their  hearers  seek  ; 

And  hymns  which  Chaldea's  wanton  maids 

Have  sung  in  Dura's  idol-shades 

Are  with  the  Levites'  chant  ascending, 

With  Zion's  holiest  anthems  blending! 

On  Israel's  bleeding  bosom  set, 

The  heathen  heel  is  crushing  yet  ; 

The  towers  upon  our  holy  hill 

Echo  Chaldean  footsteps  still. 

Our  wasted  shrines, — who  weeps  for  them  ? 

Who  mourneth  for  Jerusalem  ? 


136  EZEKIEL 

Who  turncth  from  his  gains  away  ? 
Whose  knee  with  mine  is  bowed  to  pray  ? 
Who  leaving  feast  and  purpling  cup, 
Takes  Zion's  lamentation  up  ? 

A  sad  and  thoughtful  youth,  I  went 
With  Israel's  early  banishment  ; 
And  where  the  sullen  Chebar  crept, 
The  ritual  of  my  fathers  kept. 
The  water  from  the  trench  I  drew, 
The  firstling  of  the  flock  I  slew, 
And,  standing  at  the  altar's  side, 
I  shared  the  Levites'  lingering  pride, 
That  still  amidst  her  mocking  foes, 
The  smoke  of  Zion's  offering  rose. 

In  sudden  whirlwind  cloud  and  flame, 
The  Spirit  of  the  Highest  came! 
Before  mine  eyes  a  vision  passed, 
A  glory  terrible  and  vast ; 
With  dreadful  eyes  of  living  things, 
And  sounding  sweep  of  angel-wings, 
With  circling  light  and  sapphire  throne, 
And  flame-like  form  of  One  thereon, 
And  voice  of  that  dread  Likeness  sent 
Down  from  the  crystal  firmament ! 

The  burden  of  a  prophet's  power 
Fell  on  me  in  that  fearful  hour ; 
From  off  unutterable  woes 
The  curtain  of  the  future  rose ; 
I  saw  far  down  the  coming  time 
The  fiery  chastisement  of  crime  ; 


EZEKIEL  137 

With  noise  of  mingling  hosts,  and  jar 
Of  falling  towers  and  shouts  of  war, 
1  saw  the  nations  rise  and  fall, 
Like  fire-gleams  on  my  tent's  white  wall. 

In  dream  and  trance,  I  saw  the  slain 
Of  Egypt  heaped  like  harvest  grain. 
I  saw  the  walls  of  sea-born  Tyre 
Swept  over  by  the  spoiler's  fire ; 
And  heard  the  low,  expiring  moan 
Of  Edom  on  his  rocky  throne  ; 
And,  woe  is  me  !  the  wild  lament 
From  Zion's  desolation  sent ; 
And  felt  within  my  heart  each  blow 
Which  laid  her  holy  places  low. 

In  bonds  and  sorrow,  day  by  day, 

Before  the  pictured  tile  I  lay  ; 

And  there,  as  in  a  mirror,  saw 

The  coming  of  Assyria's  war ; 

Her  swarthy  lines  of  spearmen  pass 

Like  locusts  through  Bethhoron's  grass  ; 

I  saw  them  draw  their  stormy  hem 

Of  battle  round  Jerusalem  ; 

And,  listening,  heard  the  Hebrew  wail 

Blend  with  the  victor-trump  of  Baal  ! 

Who  trembled  at  my  warning  word  ? 
Who  owned  the  prophet  of  the  Lord  ? 
How  mocked  the  rude,  how  scoffed  the  vile, 
How  stung  the  Levites'  scornful  smile, 
As  o'er  my  spirit,  dark  and  slow, 
The  shadow  crept  of  Israel's  woe, 


1.38  EZEKIEL 

As  if  the  angel's  mournful  roll 
Had  left  its  record  on  my  soul, 
And  traced  in  lines  of  darkness  there 
The  picture  of  its  great  despair  ! 

Yet  ever  at  the  hour  I  feel 
My  lips  in  prophecy  unseal. 
Prince,  priest,  and  Levite  gather  near, 
And  Salem's  daughters  haste  to  hear, 
On  Chebar's  waste  and  alien  shore, 
The  harp  of  Judah  swept  once  more. 
They  listen,  as  in  Babel's  throng 
The  Chaldeans  to  the  dancer's  song, 
Or  wild  Sabbeka's  nightly  play, 
As  careless  and  as  vain  as  they. 


And  thus,  O  Prophet-bard  of  old, 
Hast  thou  thy  tale  of  sorrow  told  ! 
The  same  which  earth's  unwelcome  seers 
Have  felt  in  all  succeeding  years. 
Sport  of  the  changeful  multitude, 
Nor  calmly  heard  nor  understood, 
Their  song  has  seemed  a  trick  of  art, 
Their  warnings  but  the  actor's  part, 
With  bonds,  and  scorn,  and  evil  will, 
The  world  requites  its  prophets  still. 

Yet  shrink  not  thou,  whoe'er  thou  art, 
For  God's  great  purpose  set  apart, 
Before  whose  far-discerning  eyes, 
The  Future  as  the  Present  lies  ! 


LEGEND  OF  I  YOB  THE  UPRIGHT       1 39 

Beyond  a  narrow-bounded  age 
Stretches  thy  prophet-heritage, 
Through  Heaven's  vast  spaces  angel-trod, 
And  through  the  eternal  years  of  God  ! 
Thy  audience,  worlds  ! — All  things  to  be 
The  witness  of  the  Truth  in  thee  ! 

JOHN  GREENLEAF  WHITTIER 


57 
LEGEND  OF  IYOB  THE  UPRIGHT 

(From  The  Son  of  a  Prophet) 

The  mountains  talk  of  Ben  Rahah, 
And  the  caves  of  Argob  have  their  heroes  ; 
Kenath  and  Batanah  and  Salkad  exult, 
They  rejoice  in  their  favorite  sons. 
But  our  lance  is  one,  it  is  Uz  of  the  fathers, 
When  we  speak  the  name  of  Iyob. 
He  dwelt  long  ago  in  the  south  land  : 
Iyob  the  Upright,  the  prince  of  his  people, 
Rich  in  sons  and  daughters. 
His  oxen  ploughed  from  desert  to  mountain, 
His  camels  traded  from  sea  to  sea; 
The  wealth  of  a  tribe  his  she-asses, 
The  clothing  of  a  nation  his  sheep. 
But  men  named  him  not  for  his  wealth  ; 
All  knew  him  as  Iyob  the  Upright. 
He  feared  Eloah  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
The  God  of  Esau,  the  son  of  Abraham. 
With  sacrifices   he   looked  to  the  Maker  of    the 
heavens, 


140  LEGEND    OF    IYOB   THE    UPRIGHT 

And  sanctified  his  house  with  burnt-offerings. 
When  he  came  to  the  cities,  he  sat  in  the  gates  ; 
For  he  judged  righteous  judgment. 
When  he  passed  through  the  land  there  was  joy ; 
For  the  poor  were  made  rich  by  his  bounty. 
Of  the  sons  of  the  East  the  greatest, 
Of  all  he  was  best  and  most  blessed : 
Men  said,  "Be  righteous  and  be  as  Iyob." 

Then  a  marvel  : 
In  a  day  his  riches  took  wings. 
The  Sabeans  came  from  afar, 
The  swords  of  the  bands  of  the  Chaldeans. 
Oxen  and  asses  and  camels  were  gone, 
Snatched  by  the  plunderers. 
Fire  fell  from  heaven  ; 
The  sheep  were  consumed  at  one  offering. 
One  only  escaped  to  bring  each  tale  of  disaster. 
Then  another  came,  telling  a  tale  more  awful : 
"Thy  sons    and  thy  daughters  were  feasting  to- 
gether, 
And  now  together  they  are  not. 
The  house  was  crushed  by  the  cyclone, 
Its  walls  are  now  their  tomb." 
Then  rose  up  Iyob  the  Upright, 
And  bowed  before  God  and  worshipped  : 
"  Naked  came  I  from  my  mother's  womb, 
And  naked  shall  I  return. 
Eloah  gave,  Eloah  hath  taken  ; 
Lo,  I  am  thy  servant,  Eloah  !  " 
Again  a  blow,  and  men  said, 
"Can  this  be  Iyob  the  Upright  ?  " 
With  sore  disease  he  was  smitten  : 


LEGEND    OF    IYOB    THE    UPRIGHT  14! 

A  festering  outcast  he  sat  among  the  ashes. 

Of  the  thousands  who  had  waited  his  will, 

His  wife  alone  now  served  him. 

Despairing,  she  understood  not  his  trust  : 

"Renounce  Eloah,"  she  said,  "and  die." 

"  Shall  we  receive  good  from  Eloah,"  he  answered  ; 

"  And  shall  we  not  receive  evil  ?  " 
And  yet  once  more  he  was  crushed. 

The  multitude  had  fled  with  his  wealth  ; 

The  contempt    of  the   proud  had   come   with   his 
sores. 

Yet  he  said,  "  I  can  bear  it ; 

My  true  friends  still  trust  me." 

Then  these  friends  appointed  to  meet  him, 

And  came  and  sat  down  in  his  presence. 

Eliphaz  the  seer  came  from  Teman, 

Bildad  from  Shuah,  and  Zophar  from  Naamah. 

Seven  days  they  sat  and  spake  not, 

Then  they  opened  their  mouths  and— rebuked  him  : 

His  trusted  friends,  his  last  hope  on  earth,  con- 
demned him. 

He  had  sinned  and  was  hiding  his  evil  ; 

Let  him  confess  and  return  to  Eloah. 

But  he  knew  himself  Iyob  the  Upright, 

And  would  none  of  their  charges  of  evil. 

Nay,  but  it  must  be ;  only  guilt  could  bring  suffer- 
ing, 

Could  have  brought  such  sudden  destruction. 

Let  him  pretend  no  more  to  be  upright, 

But  repent  that  God  might  have  mercy. 
In  vain  he  protested  innocence, 

In  vain  he  appealed  to  their  mercy  : 


142  JUDITH    AND    HOLOFERNES 

They  were  deaf  to  his  cries. 

He  himself  or  Eloah  who  smote  him, 

The  man  or  his  Maker  had  done  wickedness. 

Should  mortal  man  be  more  just  than  God  ? 

Should  a  man  be  more  pure  than  his  Maker  ? 

Then  the  bitterness  of  Iyob  was  utter  : 

But  still  he  was  Iyob  the  Upright. 

He  opened  his  mouth  and  spake  : 

"  Though  Eloah  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  him ; 

I  fear,  I  adore,  I  will  not  forsake  him." 

Lo,  then  a  whirlwind,  and  the  voice  of  Eloah  ! 

"  Behold  Iyob,  I  have  owned  him  ; 

He  speaketh  of  me  the  thing  that  is  right , 

He  loveth  me,  not  mine  ;  I  accept  him." 

Then  to  Iyob  was  restored  abundance, 

And  sons  and  daughters  enriched  him. 

Again  he  was  hailed  the  Prince  of  his  people ; 

He  is  honored  to  all  generations. 

GEORGE    ANSON   JACKSON 
58 

JUDITH  AND  HOLOFERNES 

(From  Judith) 

One  cresset  twinkled  dimly  in  the  tent 
Of  Holofernes,  and  Bagoas,  his  slave, 
Lay  prone  across  the  matting  at  the  door, 
Drunk  with  the  wine  of  slumber ;  but  his  lord 
Slept  not. 

"  Go  fetch  me  wine,  and  let  my  soul  make  cheer, 
For  I  am  sick  with  visions  of  the  night. 


JUDITH    AND    HOLOFERNES  143 

Some  strangest  malady  of  breast  and  brain 
Hath  so  unnerved  me  that  a  rustling  leaf 
Sets  my  pulse  leaping.     'Tis  a  family  flaw, 
A  flaw  in  men  else  flawless,  this  dark  spell  : 
I  do  remember  when  my  grandsire  died, 
He  thought  a  lying  Ethiop  he  had  slain 
Was  strangling  him  ;  and,  later,  my  own  sire 
Went  mad  with  dreams  the  day  before  his  death. 
And  I,  too  ?  Slave  !  go  fetch  me  seas  of  wine, 
That  I  may  drown  these  fantasies — no,  stay  ! 
Ransack  the  camps  for  choicest  flesh  and  fruit, 
And  spread  a  feast  within  my  tent  this  night, 
And  hang  the  place  with  garlands  of  new  flowers  ; 
Then  bid  the  Hebrew  woman,  yea  or  nay, 
To  banquet  with  us.     As  thou  lov'st  the  light, 
Bring  her  :  and  if  indeed  the  gods  have  called, 
The  gods  shall  find  me  sitting  at  my  feast 
Consorting  with  a  daughter  of  the  gods  !  " 
Thus  Holofernes,  turning  on  his  heel 
Impatiently  ;  and  straight  Bagoas  went 
And  spoiled  the  camps  of  viands  for  the  feast, 
And  hung  the  place  with  flowers,  as  he  was  bid  ; 
And  seeing  Judith's  servant  at  the  well, 
Gave  his  lord's  message,  to  which  answer  came : 
" O  what  am  I  that  should  gainsay  my  lord?" 

"  So  soon  !  "  thought  Judith.     "  Flying  j:>ulse,  be 

still ! 
O  thou  who  lovest  Israel,  give  me  strength 
And  cunning  such  as  never  woman  had, 
That  my  deceit  may  be  his  stripe  and  scar, 
My  kisses  his  destruction.     This  for  thee, 


144  JUDITH    AND    HOLOFERNES 

My  city,  Bethulia,  this  for  thee  !  " 

And  thrice  that  day  she  prayed  within  her  heart, 

Bowed  down  among  the  cushions  of  the  tent 

In  shame  and  wretchedness  ;  and  thus  she  prayed: 

"  O  save  me  from  him,  Lord  !  but  save  me  most 

From  mine  own  sinful  self." 

Half  seen  behind  the  forehead  of  a  crag 

The  evening-star  grew  sharp  against  the  dusk, 

As  Judith  lingered  by  the  curtained  door 

Of  her  pavilion,  waiting  for  Bagoas  : 

Erewhile  he  came,  and  led  her  to  the  tent 

Of  Holofernes  ;  and  she  entered  in, 

And  knelt  before  him  in  the  cresset's  glare 

Demurely,  like  a  slave-girl  at  the  feet 

Of  her  new  master,  while  the  modest  blood 

Makes  protest  to  the  eyelids  ;  and  he  leaned 

Graciously  over  her,  and  bade  her  rise 

And  sit  beside  him  on  the  leopard-skins. 

But  Judith  would  not,  yet  with  gentlest  grace 

Would  not ;  and  partly  to  conceal  her  blush, 

Partly  to  quell  the  riot  in  her  breast, 

She  turned,  and  wrapt  her  in  her  fleecy  scarf, 

And  stood  aloof,  nor  looked  as  one  that  breathed, 

But  rather  like  some  jewelled  deity 

Taken  by  a  conqueror  from  its  sacred  niche, 

And  placed  among  the  trappings  of  his  tent — 

So  pure  was  Judith. 

For  a  moment's  space 
She  stood,  then  stealing  softly  to  his  side, 
Knelt  down  by  him,  and  with  uplifted  face, 
Whereon  the  red  rose  blossomed  with  the  white: 


JUDITH    AND    HOLOFERNES  I45 

"This  night,  my  lord,  no  other  slave  than  1 
Shall  wait  on  thee  with  fruits  and  flowers  and  wine. 
So  subtle  am  I,  I  shall  know  thy  wish 
Ere  thou  canst  speak  it.     Let  Bagoas  go 
Among  his  people  :  let  me  wait  and  serve, 
More  happy  as  thy  handmaid  than  thy  guest." 

So  Judith  served  and  Holofernes  drank, 

Until  the  lamps  that  glimmered  round  the  tent 

In  mad  processions  danced  before  his  gaze. 

And  once  he  thought  the  Hebrew  woman  sang 
A  wine  song,  touching  on  a  certain  king 
Who,  dying  of  strange  sickness,  drank,  and  past 
Beyond  the  touch  of  mortal  agony — 
A  vague  tradition  of  the  cunning  sprite 
That  dwells  within  the  circle  of  the  grape. 

"  A  potent  medicine  for  kings  and  men," 
Thus  Holofernes,  "  he  was  wise  to  drink  ; 
Be  thou  as  wise,  fair  Judith."     As  he  spoke, 
He  stoopt  to  kiss  the  treacherous  soft  hand 
That  rested  like  a  snowflake  on  his  arm, 
But  stooping  reeled,  and  from  the  place  he  sat 
Toppled,  and  fell  among  the  leopard-skins  ; 
There  lay,  nor  stirred  ;  and  ere  ten  beats  of  heart, 
The  tawny  giant  slumbered.      .... 

With  quick  breath 
Judith  blew  out  the  tapers,  all  save  one, 
And  from  his  twisted  girdle  loosed  the  sword, 
And  grasping  the  huge  hilt  with  her  two  hands, 
Thrice  smote  the  Prince  of  Assur  as  he  lay ; 


I46  JUDITH    AND    HOLOFERNES 

Thrice  on  his  neck  she  smote  him  as  he  lay, 
And  from  the  brawny  shoulders  rolled  the  head 
Winking  and  ghastly  in  the  cresset's  light  ; 
Which  done,  she  fled  into  the  yawning  dark, 
There  met  her  maid,  who,  stealing  to  the  tent, 
Pulled  down,  the  crimson  arras  on  the  corse, 
And  in  her  mantle  wrapped  the  brazen  head 
And  brought  it  with  her  ; 

but  outside  the  camp 
Terror  seized  on  them  and  they  fled  like  wraiths 
Through  the  hushed  midnight  into  the  black  woods, 
Where  from    gnarled    roots  and   ancient,    palsied 

trees 
Dread  shapes,  upstarting,  clutched  at  them  ;   and 

once, 
A  nameless  bird  in  branches  overhead 
Screeched,   and  the  blood  grew  cold   about  their 

hearts. 
By  mouldy  caves,  the  hooded  viper's  haunt, 
Down  perilous  steeps,   and  through    the  desolate 

gorge, 
Onward  they  flew  with  madly  streaming  hair, 
Bearing  their  hideous  burden,  till  at  last, 
Wild  with  the  pregnant  horrors  of  the  night, 
They  dashed  themselves  against  the  City's  gate. 

So  by  God's  grace  and  this  one  woman's  hand, 
The  tombs  and  temples  of  the  just  were  saved  ; 
And  evermore  throughout  fair  Israel 
The  name  of  Judith  meant  all  noblest  things 
In  thought  and  deed  ;  and  Judith's  life  was  rich 
With  that  content  the  world  takes  not  away. 


THE  PRAYER  OF  MARDOCHEUS        I47 

And  far-off  kings  enamored  of  her  fame, 

Bluff  princes,  dwellers  by  the  salt  sea-sands, 

Sent  caskets  most  laboriously  carved 

Of  ivory,  and  papyrus  scrolls,  whereon 

Was  writ  their  passion  ;  then  themselves  did  come 

With  spicy  caravans,  in  purple  state, 

To  seek  regard  from  her  imperial  eyes. 

But  she  remained  unwed,  and  to  the  end 

Walked  with  the  angels  in  her  widow's  weeds. 

THOMAS  BAILEY  ALDRICH 


59 
THE  PRAYER  OF  MARDOCHEUS 

(Esther  [Apocrypha]  xiii) 

O  Lord,  my  Lord,  That  art  the  King  of  might, 

Within  Whose  power  all  things  their  being  have  ! 
Who  may  withstand  that  liveth  in  Thy  sight, 
If  Thou  Thy  chosen  Israel  wilt  save  ? 

For  Thou  hast  made  the  earth   and  heaven 

above, 
And  all  things  else  that  in  the  same  do  move. 


Thou  madest  all  things,  and  they  are  all  Thine  own, 

And  there  is  none  that  may  resist  Thy  will  : 
Thou  know'st  all  things,  and  this  of  Thee  is  known, 
I  did  not  erst  for  malice  nor  for  ill, 

Presumption  nor  vain  glory  else  at  all, 
Come  nor  bow  down   unto  proud   Haman's 
call. 


I48  NEHEMIAH 

I  could  have  been  content  for  Israel's  sake 

To  kiss  the  soles  even  of  his  very  feet, 
But  that  I  would  not  man's  vain  honour  take 
Before  God's  glory,  being  so  unmeet, 

And  would  not  worship  none,  O  Lord,  but 

Thee! 
And  npt  of  pride,  as  Thou  Thyself  dost  see. 

Therefore,  O  Lord,  my  God  and  heavenly  King, 
Have  mercy  on  the  people  Thou  hast  bought  ! 
For  they  imagine  and  devise  the  thing 

How  to  destroy  and  bring  us  unto  nought, 

Thine  heritance,  which   Thou  so  long  hast 

fed, 
And  out  so  far  from  Egypt-land  hast  led. 

O  hear  my  prayer,  and  mercy  do  extend 

Upon  Thy  portion  of  inheritance  ! 
For  sorrow  now  some  joy  and  solace  send, 
That  we  may  live  Thy  glory  to  advance  ; 

And    suffer   not   their  mouths  shut  up,   O 

Lord, 
Which    still    Thy    Name   with     praises    do 
record  ! 

MICHAEL  DRAYTON 
60 

NEHEMIAH 

(From  Bible  Characters) 

Ninety-two  years  after  the  edict  of  Cyrus,  Single- 
heart  stepped  upon  the  scene.  He  was  a  Jew, 
born  probably  in  Persia,  and  rose,  in   spite  of  his 


NEHEMIAH  I49 

origin,  by  rare  nihility,  to  a  high  place  in  the  service 
of  Artaxerxes.  His  title  was  cup-bearer  ;  but  all 
such  titles  are  misleading.  He  was  a  statesman 
and  a  courtier,  and  it  was  only  one  of  his  duties  to 
taste  the  wine  before  he  poured  out  for  the  king, 
and  so  secure  him  at  his  own  risk  against  poison. 
This  royal  favorite,  bred  in  soft  Persia  and  lodged 
in  those  earthly  paradises,  the  summer  palace  and 
winter  palace  of  his  monarch,  had  yet  "Jerusalem 
written  on  his  heart." 

•  •••••  ••• 

Singleheart,  better  known  as  Nehemiah,  was 
leading  a  life  of  delights  with  the  king  at  Shushan, 
when  Hanani,  a  pious  Jew,  who  had  gone  with  a 
company  to  visit  Jerusalem,  returned  from  that 
journey.  Nehemiah  questioned  him  eagerly  about 
their  city  and  countrymen. 

Then  Hanani  and  his  fellows  hung  their  heads, 
and  told  Nehemiah  that  the  remnant  of  the  cap- 
tivity in  that  land  were  in  great  affliction  and 
reproach ;  the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  also,  was  broken 
down,  and  the  gates  burned  with  fire. 

See  now  how  Jerusalem  was  beloved  by  her  exiled 
sons  !  Born,  bred,  and  thriving  in  soft,  seductive 
Persia,  the  truediearted  Jew  Nehemiah  was  struck 
down  directly  by  these  words.  He  who  had  a 
right  to  stand  on  the  steps  of  the  greatest  throne 
in  the  world  sat  down  upon  the  ground,  and  fasted 
and  wept  and  prayed  before  the  God  of  heaven ; 
and  this  was  his  confession  and  his  prayer:  "O 
Lord  God  of  heaven,  we  have  dealt  very  corruptly 
against  thee,  and  have  not  kept  the  commandments, 


150  NEHEMIAH 

nor  the  statutes,  nor  the  judgments,  which  thou 
commandedst  thy  servant  Moses.  Remember,  I 
beseech  thee,  the  word  that  thou  commandedst  thy 
servant  Moses,  saying,  If  ye  transgress,  I  will 
scatter  you  abroad  among  the  nations  :  but  if  ye 
turn  unto  me,  and  keep  my  commandments,  and  do 
them  ;  though  there  were  of  you  cast  out  unto  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  heaven,  yet  will  I  gather 
them  from  thence,  and  will  bring  them  unto  the 
place  that  I  have  chosen  to  set  my  name  there.    .    . 

Public  men  are  slaves  as  well  as  masters,  their 
consciences  seldom  their  own,  their  time  never. 
Neither  their  pleasures  nor  their  griefs  can  be 
long  indulged.  The  bereaved  statesman  is  not 
allowed  to  be  quiet  and  to  mourn  ;  he  must  leave 
the  new  grave  and  the  desolate  home  for  his  arena, 
sometimes  must  even  take  part  in  a  public  festivity 
with  a  bleeding  heart.  This  very  thing  befell 
Nehemiah 

Great  Artaxerxes  gave  a  superb  banquet  to  his 
nobility  :  the  queen  was  there — no  every-day  event. 
.  .  .  Gold  plate  by  the  ton,  gorgeous  silk  dresses 
of  every  hue,  marble  pillars,  fountains,  music,  lights 
to  turn  night  into  day,  slaves,  sultanas,  courtiers 
resplendent  as  stars,  and  all  worshipping  their  sun 
Artaxerxes 

It  was  Singleheart's  duty  to  present  the  cup  to 
this  earthly  divinity.  So  he  took  up  the  golden 
goblet,  filled  it  ceremoniously,  and  offered  it  with 
a  deep  obeisance,  as  he  had  often  done  before; 
but  now  for  the  first  time  with  a  sorrowful  face. 

This  was  so  strange  a  thing  in  him,  or  indeed  in 


NEHEMIAH  151 

any  courtier,  that  the  king  noticed  it  at  once  ;  even 
as  he  took  the  cup  his  eye  dwelt  on  this  sad  face, 
and  he  said  directly,  "Why  is  your  countenance 
sad  ?  " 

Nehemiah  was  too  much  taken  aback  to  reply. 
The  king'  questioned  him  again.  "You  are  not 
sick?" 

Still  no  reply. 

"  This  is  sorrow,  and  nothing"  else." 

Then  Nehemiah  was  sore  afraid,  and  I  will  tell 
you  why.  His  life  was  in  danger.  Even  a  modern 
autocrat  like  Louis  XIV  expected  everybody's 
face  to  shine  if  he  did  but  appear,  and  how  much 
more  an  Artaxerxes  ! 

But  though  Nehemiah  felt  his  danger,  yet  the 
king's  actual  words  were  not  menacing,  and  the 
courtier  found  courage  to  tell  the  simple  truth. 
Me  salaamed  down  to  the  ground.  "Let  the  king 
live  forever!"  After  this  propitiatory  formula  he 
replied,  "  Why  should  not  my  countenance  be  sad, 
when  the  city,  the  place  of  my  fathers'  sepulchres, 
lieth  waste,  and  its  gates  are  burned  with  fire  ?" 

These  are  brave  words,  and  can  be  read  aggress- 
ively ;  only  that  is  not  how  Nehemiah  spoke  them. 
It  was  his  to  propitiate,  not  to  offend,  and  his  tones 
were  broken-hearted  and  appealing,  not  contuma- 
cious. 

Then  Nehemiah  set  us  all  an  example.  He  did 
not  answer  the  king  out  of  his  own  head,  and  pray 
for  wisdom  six  hours  afterwards,  because  it  was 
bed-time.  He  prayed  standing  on  the  spot,  and, 
like   a   skilful   gunner,    shot    the   occasion    flying. 


152  NEHEMIAH 

Strengthened  by  ejaculatory  prayer,  the  soul's  best 
weapon,  he  said,  "  If  it  please  the  king,  and  if  thy 
servant  has  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  pray  send  me 
to  Judah,  unto  the  city  of  my  fathers'  sepulchres, 
that  I  may  rebuild  it." 

The  king's  answer  was  rather  favorable.  He  was 
unwilling  to  lose  a  good  servant  forever,  and  asked 
him  how  long  he  wished  to  be  away ;  but  this  was 
as  much  as  to  say  he  should  go  upon  conditions. 

When  that  one  point  was  settled,  and  leave  of 
absence  conceded,  Nehemiah  got  bolder  and  bolder. 
He  asked  for  passports  where  needed,  and  an  order 
on  Asaph  for  timber,  etc.  The  liberal  monarch 
granted  all,  and  even  volunteered  a  cavalry  escort 
to  see  him  safe  to  the  end  of  that  long  and  perilous 
journey.  In  recording  the  first  of  these  petitions 
the  autobiographer,  Nehemiah,  suddenly  informs  us 
that  the  queen  was  sitting  by  the  king's  side.  This 
looks  as  if  he  connected  her  somehow  in  his  own 
mind  with  his  petition  and  the  king's  bounty,  and 
rather  favors  the  notion  that  she  was  the  famous 
Esther,  and  sympathized  then  and  there  with  her 
sad  countryman  by  look  or  gesture. 

So  Singleheart  left  the  lap  of  luxury  and  rode 
with  his  escort  from  Shushan  to  Jerusalem.     .     .     . 

He  reached  Jerusalem,  .  .  .  and  on  the  third 
day,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  he  rose  and  took 
with  him,  not  his  Persian  escort  to  make  a  clatter  of 
hoofs  and  a  parade,  but  a  few  trusty  men  on  foot, 
and  even  to  them  he  did  not  reveal  "  What  God  had 
put  into  his  heart  to  do  at  Jerusalem."  So  with 
his  secret  locked  at  present  in  his  breast,  he  passed 


NEHEMIAH,    REFORMER  153 

out  by  the  gate  of  the  valley  and  round  the  city, 
and  under  the  silver  light  of  the  moon  and  stars 
viewed  the  clean  gaps,  the  burned  fragments  of  the 
gates,  and  the  jagged   breaches  in  the  walls  of  the 

holy  city 

Fresh  from  that  starlight  picture  Nehemiah  went 
to  the  Jewish  nobles,priests  and  princes, showed  the 
powers  he  held  under  the  hand  of  Artaxerxes,  and 
urered  them  to  rebuild  the  walls  and  revive  the 
national  glory.  He  has  not  told  us  what  he  said  ; 
but  it  is  clear  he  found  words  of  rare  eloquence ; 
for  they  all  caught  fire  directly,  and  cried  out, 
"Let  us  rise  and  build." 

CHARLES    READE 


61 

NEHEMIAH,  REFORMER 

(From  Bible  Characters) 

It  is  clear  from  Nehemiah's  own  account  that 
intermarriage  with  heathen,  and  other  abuses, 
proved  too  strong  for  Ezra  in  the  long  run.  Nehe- 
miah found  this  malpractice  and  many  others  at 
Jerusalem,  .  .  .  [and]  set  himself  to  reform  this, 
but  not  this  alone.  He  was  not  a  better,  but  a 
greater,  man  than  Ezra,  and  made  wiser  reforms, 
and  kept  them  alive,  which  Ezra  failed  to  do. 

One  thing  that  shocked  him  much  was  the 
usurious  practices  of  the  wealthier  Jews,  and  their 
cruelty  in  selling  their  poor  debtors  into  bondage. 
"What!"  said  he,  "we  have  redeemed  our  brethren 


154  NEHEMIAH,    REFORMER 

that  were  sold  unto  the  heathen,  and  will  ye  sell 
your  brethren?"  and  they  found  nothing  to 
answer.  Then  he  reminded  them  he  had  power 
to  levy  large  exactions  upon  them,  and  besought 
them  to  imitate  his  moderation. 

Such  was  the  power  of  his  example,  and  his  re- 
monstrances that  he  actually  induced  the  creditors 
to  restore  to  the  ruined  debtors  their  houses,  vine- 
yards, and  olive-yards,  and  a  little  of  the  forfeited 
produce  to  keep  them  alive  through  the  famine. 

When  the  relenting  creditors  had  bound  them- 
selves to  this  by  oath,  he  took  his  tunic  in  both 
hands  and  shook  it,  and  said,  "  May  God  so  shake 
out  every  man  from  his  house  and  from  his  labor 
who  performcth  not  this  promise." 

This  was  a  master-stroke,  and  shows  the  man  of 
genius.  Such  appeals  to  the  senses  as  well  as  to 
the  conscience  take  the  whole  mind  by  assault,  and 
fix  the  matter  forever  in  the  memory.  His  hearers 
cried  "Amen"  and  praised  the  Lord  and — kept 
their  promises 

Both  priests  and  laymen  had  become  loose  in 
observing  the  Sabbath  day.  He  found  Jews  tread- 
ing the  winepresses,  gathering  in  the  harvests, 
and  trading  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  men  of  Tyre 
bringing  fish  and  other  wares  into  the  markets  of 
the  city. 

He  treated  natives  and  aliens  alike,  stopped  the 
home  trade,  and  closed  the  gates  of  the  city 
against  the  Tyrians. 

But  the  Tyrians  were  hard  to  deal  with  ;  they 
lodged  outside  the  wall,  and  offered  their  wares 
outside. 


NEHEMIAH,    REFORMER  155 

"  Do  that  again,"  said  Nehemiah,  "and  I  will  lay- 
hands  on  you."  This  frightened  them  away  for 
good. 

Then  came  his  worst  trouble,  the  persistent 
intermarriage  with  heathen. 

Ezra  had  withstood  this  for  years  in  vain.  Ne- 
hemiah had  combated  it  with  partial  success  ;  yet 
now  Nehemiah  found  Jews  who  had  married  wives 
of  Ashdod,  Amnion,  and  Moab,  and  their  children 
could  not  speak  Hebrew,  but  naturally  spoke  their 
mother-tongue. 

Then  he  came  out  in  a  new  character.  He  con- 
tended with  them,  and  cursed  them,  and  smote 
certain  of  them,  and  plucked  off  their  hair,  and 
made  them  swear  by  God  not  to  give  their 
daughters  to  heathen  husbands  nor  their  sons  to 
heathen  wives  again. 

After  this  outburst  of  impassioned  zeal,  which 
at  first  takes  the  student  of  his  mind  a  little  by 
surprise,  he  returned  to  his  grave  character,  and 
reasoned  the  matter  with  those  he  had  terrified 
into  submission. 

"What  Jew,"  said  he,  "was  ever  so  wise,  so 
great,  so  beloved  of  God,  as  King  Solomon  ?  Yet 
outlandish  women  could  make  even  him  sin  against 
God,  and  commit  idolatry." 

Nehemiah  prevailed,  and  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  idolatry  received  its  death-blow  under 
his  rule. 

He  ends  his  brief  but  noble  record  with  his 
favorite  prayer,  "Remember  me,  O  my  God,  for 
good."     That  prayer  has  long  been  granted.     But 


I56  MAHALA    AND    HER    SEVEN    SONS 

the  children  of  God  on  earth  have  not  seen  all  his 
value.  Do  but  enumerate  the  various  parts  he 
played,  the  distinct  virtues  he  showed,  the  strokes 
of  genius  he  extemporized — and  all  to  serve,  not 
himself,  but  his  country  and  his  God.  Faithful 
courtier,  yet  true  patriot ;  child  of  luxury,  yet 
patient  of  hardship  ;  inventive  builder,  impromptu 
general,  astute  politician,  high-spirited  gentleman, 
inspired  orator,  resolute  reformer — born  leader  of 
men,  yet  humble  before  God. 

CHARLES    READE 


62 

MAHALA  AND  HER  SEVEN  SONS 

(From  Judas  Maccaberus) 

Act  II,  Scene  I 

THE    MOTHER 

Be  strong,  my  heart !  Break  not  till  they  are  dead, 
All,  all  my  Seven  Sons  ;  then  burst  asunder, 
And  let  this  tortured  and  tormented  soul 
Leap  and  rush  out  like  water  through  the  shards 
Of  earthen  vessels  broken  at  a  well. 

I  do  not  murmur,  nay,  I  thank  thee,  God, 

That  I  and  mine  have  not  been  deemed  unworthy 

To  suffer  for  thy  sake,  and  for  thy  law, 

And  for  the  many  sins  of  Israel. 

Hark  !  I  can  hear  within  the  sound  of  scourges  ! 

I  feel  them  more  than  yc  do,  O  my  sons  ! 


MAHALA    AND    ITER   SEVEN    SONS  1 57 

But  cannot  conic  to  you.     I,  who  was  wont 

To  wake  at  night  at  the  least  cry  ye  made, 

To  whom  ye  ran  at  every  slightest  hurt, — 

I  cannot  take  you  now  into  my  lap 

And  soothe  your  pain,  but  God  will  take  you  all 

Into  his  pitying  arms,  and  comfort  you, 

And  give  you  rest. 

a  voice  (within) 

What  wouldst  thou  ask  of  us? 
Ready  are  we  to  die,  but  we  will  never 
Transgress  the  law  and  customs  of  our  fathers. 

THE    MOTHER 

It  is  the  voice  of  my  first-born !  O  brave 
And  noble  boy  !  Thou  hast  the  privilege 
Of  dying  first,  as  thou  wast  born  the  first. 

THE    SAME    VOICE    (ivitJ'dll) 

God  looketh  on  us,  and  hath  comfort  in  us ; 
As  Moses  in  his  song  of  old  declared, 
He  in  his  servants  shall  be  comforted. 

THE    MOTHER 

I  knew  thou  wouldst  not  fail ! — -He  speaks  no  more, 
He  is  beyond  all  pain  ! 

antiochus  (within) 

If  thou  eat  not 
Thou  shalt  be  tortured  throughout  all  the  members 
Of  thy  whole  body.     Wilt  thou  eat  then  ? 

second  voice  (within) 

No. 


158  M  AH  ALA    AND    HER    SEVEN    SONS 

THE    MOTHER 

It  is  Aclaiah's  voice.     I  tremble  for  him. 

I  know  his  nature,  devious  as  the  wind, 

And  swift  to  change,  gentle  and  yielding  always, 

Be  steadfast,  O  my  son! 

THE    SAME    VOICE    (ivithill) 

Thou,  like  a  fury, 
Takest  us  from  this  present  life,  but  God 
Who  rules  the  world,  shall  raise  us  up  again 
Into  life  everlasting. 

THE    MOTHER 

God,  I  thank  thee 
That  thou  hast  breathed  into  that  timid  heart 
Courage  to  die  for  thee.     O  my  Adaiah, 
Witness  of  God  !  if  thou  for  whom  I  feared 
Canst  thus  encounter  death,  I  need  not  fear; 
The  others  will  not  shrink. 

third  voice  (within) 

Behold  these  hands 
Held  out  to  thee,  O  King  Antiochus, 
Not  to  implore  thy  mercy,  but  to  show 
That  I  despise  them.     He  who  gave  them  to  me- 
Will  give  them  back  again. 

THE    MOTHER 

O  Avilan, 
It  is  thy  voice.     For  the  last  time  I  hear  it; 
For  the  last  time  on  earth,  but  not  the  last. 
To  death  it  bids  defiance  and  to  torture. 
It  sounds  to  me  as  from  another  world, 


MAHALA    AND    IIKR    SEVEN    SONS  159 

And  makes  the  petty  miseries  of  this 

Seem  unto  me  as  naught,  and  less  than  naught. 

Farewell,  my  Avilan;  nay,  I  should  say 

Welcome,  my  Avilan;  for  I  am  dead 

Before  thee.     I  am  waiting  for  the  others. 

Why  do  they  linger? 

fourth  voice  (within) 

It  is  good,  O  King, 
Being  put  to  death  by  men,  to  look  for  hope 
From  God,  to  be  raised  up  again  by  him. 
But  thou— no  resurrection  shalt  thou  have 
To  life  hereafter. 

THE    MOTHER 

Four  !  already  four  ! 
Three  are  still  living  ;  nay,  they  all  are  living, 
Half  here,  half  there.     Make  haste,  Antiochus, 
To  reunite  us;  for  the  sword  that  cleaves 
These  miserable  bodies  makes  a  door 
Through  which  our  souls,  impatient  of  release, 
Rush  to  each  other's  arms. 

fifth  voice  (within) 

Thou  hast  the  power  ; 
Thou  doest  what  thou  wilt.     Abide  awhile, 
And  thou  shalt  see  the  power  of  God,  and  how 
He  will  torment  thee  and  thy  seed. 

THE    MOTHER 

O  hasten  ; 

Why  dost  thou  pause  ?  Thou  who  hast  slain  already 
So  many  Hebrew  women,  and  hast  hung 
Their   murdered    infants  round  their  necks,  slay 
me, 


l6o  MAHALA    AND    HER   SEVEN    SONS 

For  I  too  am  a  woman,  and  these  boys 
Are  mine.     Make  haste  to  slay  us  all, 
And  hang  my  lifeless  babes  about  my  neck. 

sixth  voice  (within) 
Think  not,  Antiochus,  that  takest  in  hand 
To  strive  against  the  God  of  Israel, 
Thou  shalt  escape  unpunished,  for  his  wrath 
Shall  overtake  thee  and  thy  bloody  house. 

THE    MOTHER 

One  more,  my  Sirion,  and  then  all  is  ended. 

Having  put  all  to  bed,  then  in  my  turn 

I  will  lie  down  and  sleep  as  sound  as  they. 

My  Sirion,  my  youngest,  best  beloved  ! 

And  those  bright  golden  locks,  that  I  so  oft 

Have  curled  about  these  fingers,  even  now 

Are  foul  with  blood  and  dust,  like  a  lamb's  fleece, 

Slain  in  the  shambles. — Not  a  sound  I  hear. 

This  silence  is  more  terrible  to  me 

Than  any  sound,  than  any  cry  of  pain, 

That  might  escape  the  lips  of  one  who  dies. 

Doth  his  heart  fail  him  ?  Doth  he  fall  away 

In  the  last  hour  from  God  ?  O  Sirion,  Sirion, 

Art  thou  afraid  ?  I  do  not  hear  thy  voice. 

Die  as  thy  brothers  died.     Thou  must  not  live  ! 

Scene  II 

the  mother;  antiochus;  sirion. 

the  mother 
Arc  they  all  dead  ? 


MAHALA    AND    HER    SEVEN    SONS  l6l 

ANTIOCHUS 

Of  all  thy  Seven  Sons 
One  only  lives.  Behold  them  where  they  lie  ! 
How  dost  thou  like  this  picture  ? 

THE    MOTHER 

God  in  heaven ! 
Can  a  man  do  such  deeds,  and  yet  not  die 
By  the  recoil  of  his  own  wickedness  ? 
Ye  murdered,  bleeding,  mutilated  bodies 
That  were  my  children  once,  and  still  are  mine, 
I  cannot  watch  o'er  you  as  Rizpah  watched 
In  sackcloth  o'er  the  seven  sons  of  Saul, 
Till  water  drop  upon  you  out  of  heaven 
And  wash  this  blood  away  !  I  cannot  mourn 
As  she,  the  daughter  of  Aiah,  mourned  the  dead, 
From  the  beginning  of  the  barley-harvest 
Until  the  autumn  rains,  and  suffered  not 
The  birds  of  air  to  rest  on  them  by  day, 
Nor  the  wild  beasts  by  night.     For  ye  have  died 
A  better  death,  a  death  so  full  of  life 
That  I  ought  rather  to  rejoice  than  mourn. — 
Wherefore  art  thou  not  dead,  O  Sirion  ? 
Wherefore  art  thou  the  only  living  thing 
Among  thy  brothers  dead  !     Art  thou  afraid  ? 

ANTIOCHUS 

O  woman,  I  have  spared  him  for  thy  sake, 
For  he  is  fair  to  look  upon  and  comely  ; 
And  I  have  sworn  to  him  by  all  the  gods, 
That  I  would  crown  his  life  with  joy  and  honor, 
Heap  treasures  on  him,  luxuries,  delights, 


l62  MAHALA    AND    HER    SEVEN    SONS 

Make  him  my  friend  and  keeper  of  my  secrets, 
If  he  would  turn  from  your  Mosaic  Law 
And  be  as  we  are  ;  but  he  will  not  listen. 

THE    MOTHER 

My  noble  Sirion. 

ANTIOCHUS 

Therefore  I  beseech  thee, 
Who  art  his  mother,  thou  wouldst  speak  with  him, 
And  wouldst  persuade  him.     I  am  sick  of  blood. 

THE  MOTHER 

Yea,  I  will  speak  with  him  and  will  persuade  him. 

O  Sirion,  my  son !  have  pity  on  me, 

On  me  that  bare  thee,  and  that  gave  thee  suck 

And  fed  and  nourished  thee,  and  brought  thee  up 

With  the  clear  trouble  of  a  mother's  care 

Unto  this  age.     Look  on  the  heavens  above  thee, 

And  on  the  earth  and  all  that  is  therein  ; 

Consider  that  God  made  them  out  of  things 

That  were  not  ;  and  that  likewise  in  this  manner 

Mankind  was  made.     Then  fear  not  this  tormentor  ; 

But,  being  worthy  of  thy  brethren,  take 

Thy  death  as  they  did,  that  I  may  receive  thee 

Again  in  mercy  with  them. 


ANTIOCHUS 

Yea,  I  am  laughed  to  scorn. 

SIRION 


I  am  mocked, 


Whom  wait  ye  for? 
Never  will  I  obey  the  King's  commandment, 


lg 


MAHALA    AND    HER    SEVEN    SONS  1 6 j 

But  the  commandment  of  the  ancient  Law, 
That  was  by  Moses  given  unto  our  fathers. 
And  thou,  O  godless  man,  that  of  all  others 
Art  the  most  wicked,  be  not  lifted  up, 
Nor  puffed  up  with  uncertain  hopes,  uplifting 
Thy  hand  against  the  servants  of  the  Lord, 
For  thou  hast  not  escaped  the  righteous  judgment 
Of  the  Almighty  God,  who  seeth  all  things  ! 

ANTIOCHUS 

He  is  no  God  of  mine  :  I  fear  him  not. 

SIRION 

My  brothers,  who  have  suffered  a  brief  pain, 
Are  dead  ;  but  thou,  Antiochus,  shalt  suffer 
The  punishment  of  pride.     I  offer  up 
My  body  and  my  life,  beseeching  God 
That  he  would  speedily  be  merciful 
Unto  our  nation  ;  and  that  thou  by  plagues 
Mysterious  and  by  torments  mayest  confess 
That  He  alone  is  God. 

ANTIOCHUS 

Ye  both  shall  perish 
By  torments  worse  than  any  that  your  God, 
Here  or  hereafter,  hath  in  store  for  me. 

THE     MOTHER 

My  Sirion,  I  am  proud  of  thee. 

ANTIOCHUS 

Be  silent ! 
Go  to  thy  bed  of  torture  in  yon  chamber, 
Where  lie  so  many  sleepers,  heartless  mother  ! 


164  JUDAS    MACCAB/EUS 

Thy  footsteps  will  not  wake  them,  nor  thy  voice, 
Nor  wilt  thou  hear,  amid  thy  troubled  dreams, 
Thy  children  crying  for  thee  in  the  night ! 

THE    MOTHER 

0  Death,  that  stretchest  thy  white  hands  to  me, 

1  fear  them  not,  but  press  them  to  my  lips, 
That  are  as  white  as  thine ;  for  I  am  Death, 
Nay,  am  the  mother  of  Death,  seeing  these  sons 
All  lying  lifeless. — Kiss  me,  Sirion. 

H.  W.  LONGFELLOW 


63 

JUDAS  MACCABEUS 

(From  Judas  Maccabceus) 

Act  III 

The  Battle-field  of  Betk-Horon 

Scene  I — Judas  Maccabceus  in  armor  before  his 
tent. 

JUDAS 

The  trumpets  sound  ;  the  echoes  of  the  mountains 
Answer  them,  as  the  Sabbath  morning  breaks 
Over  Beth-horon  and  its  battle-field, 
Where  the  great  captain  of  the  hosts  of  God, 
A  slave  brought  up  in  the  brick-fields  of  Egypt, 
O'ercame  the  Amorites.     There  was  no  day 
Like  that,  before  or  after  it,  nor  shall  be. 
The  sun  stood  still  ;  the  hammers  of  the  hail 
Beat  on  their  harness  ;  and  the  captains  set 


JUDAS    MACCABEUS  1 65 

Their  weary  feet  upon  the  necks  of  kings, 

As  I  will  upon  thine,  Antiochus, 

Thou  man  of  blood  !     Behold  the  rising  sun 

Strikes  on  the  golden  letters  of  my  banner, 

BeElohim  YchovaJi!     Who  is  like 

To  thee,  O  Lord,  among  the  gods  ? — Alas  ! 

I  am  not  Joshua,  I  cannot  say, 

"  Sun,  stand  thou  still  on  Gibeon,  and  thou  Moon, 

In  Ajalon  !  "     Nor  am  I  one  who  wastes 

The  fateful  time  in  useless  lamentation  ; 

But  one  who  bears  his  life  upon  his  hand 

To  lose  it  or  to  save  it,  as  may  best 

Serve  the  designs  of  Him  who  giveth  life. 

Scene  II — Judas  Maccab/EUs;  J i:\visii  Fugitives 

JUDAS 

Who  and  what  are  ye,  that  with  furtive  steps 
Steal  in  among  our  tents  ? 

FUGITIVES 

O  Maccabaeus, 
Outcasts  are  we,  and  fugitives  as  thou  art, 
Jews  of  Jerusalem,  that  have  escaped 
From  the  polluted  city,  and  from  death. 

JUDAS 

None  can  escape  from  death.     Say  that  ye  come 
To  die  for  Israel,  and  ye  are  welcome. 
What  tidings  bring  ye  ? 

FUGITIVES 

Tidings  of  despair. 
The  Temple  is  laid  waste ;  the  precious  vessels, 


l66  JUDAS    MACCAByEUS 

Censers  of  gold,  vials  and  veils  and  crowns, 
And  golden  ornaments,  and  hidden  treasures, 
Have  all  been  taken  from  it,  and  the  Gentiles 
With  revelling  and  with  riot  fill  its  courts. 

JUDAS 

All  this  I  knew  before. 

FUGITIVES 

Upon  the  altar 
Are  things  profane,  things  by  the  law  forbidden  ; 
Nor  can  we  keep  our  Sabbaths  or  our  Feasts, 
But  on  the  festival  of  Dionysus 
Must  walk  in  their  processions,  bearing  ivy 
To  crown  a  drunken  god. 

JUDAS 

This  too  I  know, 
But  tell  me  of  the  Jews.     How  fare  the  Jews  ? 

FUGITIVES 

The  coming  of  this  mischief  hath  been  sore 

And  grievous  to  the  people.     All  the  land 

Is  full  of  lamentation  and  of  mourning. 

The  Princes  and  the  Elders  weep  and  wail ; 

The  young  men  and  the  maidens  are  made  feeble ; 

The  beauty  of  the  women  hath  been  changed. 

JUDAS 

And  are  there  none  to  die  for  Israel  ? 
'Tis  not  enough  to  mourn.     Breastplate  and  har- 
ness 
Are  better  things  than  sackcloth.     Let  the  women 
Lament  for  Israel ;  the  men  should  die. 


THE    BATTLE   OF    BETII-HORON  \dj 


FUGITIVES 


o"  • 


Both  men  and  women  die  ;  old  men  and  youn 
Old  Eleazer  died  ;  and  Mahala 
With  all  her  Seven  Sons. 


JUDAS 

Antiochus, 
At  every  step  thou  takest  there  is  left 
A  bloody  footprint  in  the  street,  by  which 
The  avenging  wrath  of  God  will  track  thee  out  ! 
It  is  enough.     Go  to  the  sutler's  tents  : 
Those  of  you  who  are  men,  put  on  such  armor 
As  ye  may  find  ;  those  of  you  who  are  women, 
Buckle  that  armor  on  ;  and  for  a  watchword 
Whisper,  or  cry  aloud,  "The  Help  of  God." 

H.    W.    LONGFELLOW 


64 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BETH-HORON 

(From  Judas  Maccabcrus) 

Scene  IV — Judas  Maccab.eus  ;   Captains  and 

Soldiers 

JUDAS 

The  hour  is  come.     Gather  the  host  together 
For  battle.     Lo,  with  trumpets  and  with  songs 
The  army  of  Nicanor  comes  against  us. 
Go  forth  to  meet  them,  praying  in  your  hearts, 
And  fighting  with  your  hands. 


168        THE  BATTLE  OF  BETH-HORON 

CAPTAINS 

Look  forth  and  see  ! 
The  morning  sun  is  shining  on  their  shields 
Of   gold  and    brass  ;   the   mountains   glisten  with 

them, 
And  shine  like  lamps.     And  we  who  are  so  few 
And  poorly  armed,  and  ready  to  faint  with  fasting, 
How  shall  we  fight  against  this  multitude? 

JUDAS 

The  victory  of  a  battle  standeth  not 
In  multitudes,  but  in  the  strength  that  cometh 
From  heaven  above.     The  Lord  forbid  that  I 
Should  do  this  thing,  and  flee  away  from  them. 
Nay  if  our  hour  be  come,  then  let  us  die  ; 
Let  us  not  stain  our  honor. 

CAPTAINS 

'  Tis  the  Sabbath. 
Wilt  thou  fight  on  the  Sabbath,  Maccabaeus  ? 

JUDAS 

Ay ;  when  I  fight  the  battles  of  the  Lord, 
I  fight  them  on  his  day,  as  on  all  others. 
Have  ye  forgotten  certain  fugitives 
That  fled  once  to  these  hills,  and  hid  themselves 
In  caves?  How  their  pursuers  camped  against  them 
Upon  the  Seventh  Day,  and  challenged  them  ? 
And  how  they  answered  not,  nor  cast  a  stone, 
Nor  stopped  the  places  where  they  lay  concealed, 
But  meekly  perished  with  their  wives  and  children, 
Even  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  souls  ? 


THE   BATTLE    OF   BETH-HORON  169 

We  who  are  fighting  for  our  laws  and  lives 
Will  not  so  perish. 

CAPTAINS 

Lead  us  to  the  battle! 

JUDAS 

And  let  our  watchword  be,  "  The  Help  of  God  !  " 

Last  night  I  dreamed  a  dream  ;  and  in  my  vision 

Beheld  Onias,  our  High  Priest  of  old, 

Who  holding  up  his  hands  prayed  for  the  Jews. 

This  clone,  in  the  like  manner  there  appeared 

An  old  man,  and  exceeding  glorious, 

With  hoary  hair,  and  of  a  wonderful 

And  excellent  majesty.     And  Onias  said  : 

"This  is  a  lover  of  the  Jews,  who  prayeth 

Much  for  the  people  and  the  Holy  City, — 

God's  prophet  Jeremias."     And  the  prophet 

Held  forth  his  right  hand  and  gave  unto  me 

A  sword  of  gold  ;  and  giving  it  he  said  : 

"  Take  thou  this  holy  sword,  a  gift  from  God, 

And  with  it  thou  shalt  wound  thine  adversaries." 

CAPTAINS 

The  Lord  is  with  us  ! 

JUDAS 

Hark  !  I  hear  the  trumpets 
Sound  from  Beth-horon  ;  from  the  battle-field 
Of  Joshua,  where  he  smote  the  Amorites, 
Smote  the  Five  Kings  of  Eglon,  and  of  Jarmuth, 
Of  Hebron,  Lachish,  and  Jerusalem, 


170  THE    PHARISEES 

As  we  to-day  will  smite  Nicanor's  hosts, 

And  leave  a  memory  of  great  deeds  behind  us. 

CAPTAINS    AND    SOLDIERS 

The  Help  of  God  ! 

JUDAS 

Be  Elohim  Yehovah  ! 
Lord,  thou  didst  send  thine  Angel  in  the  time 
Of  Ezekias,  King  of  Israel, 
And  in  the  armies  of  Sennacherib 
Didst  slay  a  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand. 
Wherefore,  O  Lord  of  heaven,  now  also  send 
Before  us  a  good  angel  for  a  fear, 
And  through  the  might  of  thy  right  arm  let  those 
Be  stricken  with  terror  that  have  come  this  day 
Against  thy  holy  people  to  blaspheme ! 

H.    W.    LONGFELLOW 


65 

THE  PHARISEES 

( From  //  'onifn  of  Israel) 

To  obtain  a  just  and  impartial  estimate  of  the 
real  character,  intentions,  and  bearings  of  the  body, 
known  as  the  Pharisees,  is  to  the  Hebrew  of  the 
present  day  almost  impossible.  The  Jew,  whose 
mind  and  heart  have  been  guided  by  his  Talmud- 
ical  studies,  cannot  fail  to  regard  them  with  the 
deepest  veneration  and  love ; — the  Jew,  who  has 
known  them  only  through  the  medium  of  Gentile 


THE    PHARISEES  IJl 

writers,  must  unconsciously  imbibe  a  portion  of 
their  feeling,  and  perhaps  regard  them  only  as 
superstitious  zealots,  following  the  letter  of  the 
law,  but  not  its  spirit.  The  allusions  to  the  Phari- 
sees, in  the  book  which  Gentiles  believe  divine, 
and  the  subsequent  explanations  in  their  various 
commentaries,  cannot  fail  to  engender  this  spirit. 
But  the  Hebrew  should  guard  against  imbibing  it, 
because  the  view  is  false  in  many  of  its  bearings. 
It  is  very  difficult,  when  we  only  possess  histories 
written  by  Gentiles  in  a  liberal  and  friendly  spirit, 
and  containing  so  much  with  which  we  can  fully 
sympathize,  to  realize  that  on  some  points  as 
Hebrews,  our  opinions  must  form  themselves,  and 
not  be  guided  by  those  of  the  historian.  The 
Pharisees  is  one  of  these — on  which  we  must  reflect 
and  exercise  our  own  judgment.  The  Rabbinical 
historian  would  unhesitatingly  pronounce  them 
saints,  as  little  less  holy  or  inspired  than  the 
prophets  themselves  ; — the  Gentiles,  as  cruel,  pre- 
judiced bigots,  hiding  the  most  fearful  vices  under 
the  mask  of  extremest  sanctity.  Both  are  probably 
wrong.  The  Pharisees  were  but  men,  liable  to  all 
the  failings  of  humanity ;  but  their  religion,  even 
if  carried  beyond  the  law,  was  honest  and  sincere. 
The  laxity  and  indifference  of  the  multitude  com- 
pelled a  greater  degree  of  strictness  ;  they  were 
forced  to  raise  around  them  a  wall  of  exclusiveness, 
lest  they  too  should  fall.  They  beheld  the  awful 
evils  creeping  steadily  amidst  all  ranks,  and  was 
it  strange  that  they  should  have  encouraged  an 
unsocial  spirit,  and  held  themselves  aloof  ?     They 


172  THE    PHARISEES 

beheld  foreign  manners  and  customs  destroying 
the  nationality  of  their  people  and  land  ;  that  the 
law  of  their  God,  which  they  justly  held  supreme, 
was  disregarded  ;  and  was  it  unnatural  that  they 
should  seclude  themselves,  proud  of  their  spiritual 
superiority — or  that  their  attachment  to  their  land 
and  Temple  should  increase  in  passionate  intensity, 
as  they  beheld  it  so  often  trampled  upon  and  dese- 
crated by  foreigners  ?  That  a  want  of  charity,  of 
humility,  of  forbearance,  marked  their  religion, 
might  be ;  nay,  in  that  terrible  period  it  could 
scarcely  be  otherwise.  Party  spirit  even  then  had 
dried  up  the  channels  of  social  affection,  and  the 
spirit  of  love  and  meekness  which  the  religion  of 
Moses  taught,  could  not  be  realized  in  the  popular 
tumults  and  crimes  forever  raging  round  them. 
Individuals  there  were,  no  doubt,  combining  the 
pure  spirit  and  loving  mind  with  the  outward 
ceremonial ;  but  in  this  brief  sketch  we  can  only 
generalize.  Still,  spite  of  their  faults — spite  of 
the  too  rigid,  too  exclusive  notions,  which,  if  indeed 
they  had  existence,  originated  simply  from  the  fear 
of  being  too  lax,  and  sharing  the  indifference  and 
infidelity  of  too  many  of  their  fellows,  the  Phari- 
sees must  be  regarded  with  veneration  as  the 
preservers  of  the  law. 

GRACE    AGUILAR 


LINES    FOR   THE    NINTH    OF    AB  173 

66 

LINKS  FOR  THE  NINTH  OF  AB 

isaiah  xi.  i.— DUTIES  -ok"  "dj?  nru  innj 

Shall  I  sorrow,  oh  desolate  city, 

For  thy  beauty  and  glory  o'erthrown  ? 
Shall  I  sing  the  dread  day  of  destruction, 

When  thy  sins  thou  didst  dearly  atone  ? 
When  the  Lord  from  the  place  He  had  chosen 

In  anger  withdrew  His  great  name, 
And  its  treasures  were  spoiled  by  the  stranger, 

Its  holiness  given  to  shame — 
When  the  shrieks  of  the  daughters  of  Zion 

Sad  echo'd  the  shouts  of  the  foe, 
And  thy  streets,  ravished  City,  ran  crimson 

With  the  blood  of  thy  sons,  lying  low- 
When  the  sceptre  departed  from  Judah, 

From  Levi  his  birthright  was  riven, 
And  the  people  of  God  wore  led  captive 

Forsaken  of  earth  and  of  Heaven  ! 

Or  shall  I  rejoice  in  the  beauty 

And  glory,  again  to  be  thine, 
When  thy  youth's  loving  Bridegroom  shall  ransom 

His  promise  of  comfort  divine — ■ 
When  the  rites  of  thy  temple  new-builded 

With  God  shall  find  grace,  as  of  old, 
And  monarchs  shall  hasten  with  offerings 

Of  incense  and  jewels  and  gold  ? 
In  musical  chorus,  thy  daughters 

Shall  echo  the  Levite's  glad  song, 


174  THE    W1I-D    GAZELLE 

And  thy  gates  night  and  day  shall  stand  open 
For  the  pilgrims  that  thitherward  throng 

For  the  sceptre  returneth  to  David, 
The  mitre  to  Aaron's  proud  line  : 

And  neighbor  shall  welcome  his  neighbor 
To  the  shadow  of  fig-tree  and  vine  ! 

Like  Akiba,  who  laugh'd  when  the  foxes 

Ran  out  from  the  Holiest  place, 
Saying  :  "  True  were  the  warnings  of  evil 

And  true  is  the  promise  of  grace,'' 
My  thoughts  on  this  day  of  sad  memories 

Turn  not  back  to  the  past  in  despair, 
But  forward,  in  hope,  to  the  future 

Where  visions  of  glory  shine  fair  ! 
When  I  read  in  the  book  of  the  prophet 

Who  voiced  fallen  Zion's  distress, 
I  seek  not  alone  words  of  grieving, 

But  these  rarer,  that  comfort  and  bless  : 
"Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  oh  ye  nations, 

In  the  isles  afar-off  be  it  told  ; 
Who  dispersed,  will  again  gather  Israel, 

And  keep,  as  a  shepherd  his  fold  !  " 

SOLOMON  SOLIS-COHEN 

THE  WILD  GAZELLE 

The  wild  gazelle  on  Judah's  hills 

Exulting  yet  may  bound, 
And  drink  from  all  the  living  rills 

That  gush  on  holy  ground  ; 


OZAIR   THE   JEW  175 

Its  airy  step  and  glorious  eye 

May  glance  in  tameless  transport  by  : — 

A  step  as  fleet,  an  eye  more  bright, 

Hath  Judah  witness'd  there  ; 
And  o'er  her  scenes  of  lost  delight 

Inhabitants  more  fair. 
The  cedars  wave  on  Lebanon, 
But  Judah's  statelier  maids  are  gone  ! 

More  blest  each  palm  that  shades  those  plains 

Than  Israel's  scattered  race  : 
For,  taking  root,  it  there  remains 

In  solitary  grace  : 
It  cannot  quit  its  place  of  birth, 
It  will  not  live  in  other  earth. 

But  we  must  wander  witheringly, 

In  other  lands  to  die  ; 
And  where  our  fathers'  ashes  be, 

Our  own  may  never  lie  : 
Onr  temple  hath  not  left  a  stone, 
And  Mockery  sits  on  Salem's  throne. 

LORD    BYRON 


68 

OZAIR  THE  JEW 

What  time  fair  Zion  was  given  to  sword  and  flame, 

Ozair  the  Jew  upon  his  camel  came 

Over  those  hills  which  ring  the  sea  of  Lot, 

So  that  one  footstep  and — ye  see  her  not, 


I76  OZAIR   THE   JEW 

And  then  another — and  the  city  comes 

Full  upon  view  with  all  her  milk-white  domes. 

But  the  Chaldean  now  had  spoiled  the  place, 

And  desolate  and  waste  was  Zion's  face, 

Her  proud  abodes  unpeopled,  and  her  ways 

Heaped  with  charred  beams   and   lintels.      Ozair 

says, 
"O  Lord!  who  promised  to  Jerusalem 
Comfort  and  peace;  and  for  her  sons,  to  them 
A  glad  return,  how  shall  Thy  word  be  kept 
When  fire  and  steel  over  these  roofs  have  swept, 
And  she,  that  was  a  queen,  lies  dead  and  black, 
A  smoking  ruin,  where  the  jackals  pack  ? 
A  hundred  years  were  not  enough  to  give 
Life  back  to  Zion  !  Can  she  ever  live  ?" 

But  while  he  spake,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord 

Laid  on  his  doubting  front  a  fiery  sword, 

And  Ozair  in  that  lonely  desert  spot 

Fell  prone,  and  lay — breathing  and  moving  not — ■ 

One  hundred  years,  while  the  great  world  rolled  on, 

And  Zion  rose,  and  mighty  deeds  were  done. 

And  when   the   hundred   years   were   flown,    God 

said, 
"Awake,  Ozair  !  how  long  hast  tarried, 
Thinkcst  thou,  here?"  Ozair  replied,  "  A  day, 
Perchance,  or  half."  The  awful  Voice  said,  "  Nay! 
But  look  upon  thy  camel."     Of   that  beast 
Naught  save  white   bones  was  left ;  no    sign,  the 

least, 
Of  flesh,  or  hair,  or  hide  ;    the  desert  grass 
Was  matted  o'er  its  shanks,  and  roots  did  pass 


OZAIR   THE   JEW  1/7 

From  a  gnarled  fig-tree  through  the  eye-pits  twain, 

And  in  and  out  its  ribs  grew  the  vervain. 

But  'mid  the  moulderings  of  its  saddle-bags 

And  crimson  carpet,  withered  into  rags, 

A  basket,  full  of  new  picked  dates,  stood  there 

Beside  a  cruise  of  water,  standing  where 

He  set  them  fresh,  twice  fifty  years  ago ; 

And  all  the  dates  were  golden  with  the  glow 

Of  yestreen's  sunset,  and  the  cruise's  rim 

Sparkled  with  water  to  the  very  brim. 

"Ozair  !"  the  awful  Voice  spake,  "  look  on  these  ! 

He  maketh  and  unmaketh  what  shall  please  ; 

Saves  or  destroys,  restores  or  casts  away  ; 

And  centuries  to  Him  are  as  a  day  ; 

And  cities  all  as  easy  to  revive 

As  this  thy  camel  here,  which  now  shall  live." 

Thereon  the  skull  and  bones  together  crept 

From  tangled  weed  and  sand  where  they  had  slept ; 

The  hide  and  hair  came,  and  the  flesh  filled  in, 

The  eyes  returned  their  hollow  pits  within, 

The  saddle-bags  upon  its  haunches  hung, 

The  carpet  on  the  saddle-horns  was  flung, 

The  nose-rope  from  the  muzzle  fell.     The  beast 

Rose  from  its  knees,  and  would  have  made  to  feast 

On  the  green  herbage  where  its  bones  had  lain, 

But  that  it  heard  bells  of  a  caravan 

Coming  from  Kedron,  and  with  glad  cry  roared. 

Then  Ozair  looked,  and  saw  newly  restored 

Zion's  fair  walls  and  temples,  and  a  crowd 

Of  citizens  and  traffic  rich  and  loud 

In  her  white  streets  ,  and  knew  time  should  not  be 

Reckoned  'gainst  Him  who  hath  eternity. 

EDWIN    ARNOLD 


178  BAR    KOCHBA 

69 

BAR  KOCHBA 

Weep,  Israel !  your  tardy  meed  outpour 

Of  grateful  homage  on  his  fallen  head, 
That  never  coronal  of  triumph  wore, 

Untombed,  dishonored,  and  unchapleted. 
If  Victory  makes  the  hero,  raw  Success 

The  stamp  of  virtue,  unremembered 
Be  then  the  desperate  strife,  the  storm  and  stress 

Of  the  last  Warrior  Jew.     But  if  the  man 
Who  dies  for  freedom,  loving  all  things  less, 

Against  world-legions,  mustering  his  poor  clan  ; 
The  weak,  the  wronged,  the  miserable,  to  send 

Their  death-cry's  protest  through  the  ages'  span  — 
If  such  an  one  be  worthy,  ye  shall  lend 

Eternal  thanks  to  him,  eternal  praise. 
Nobler  the  conquered  than  the  conqueror's  end  ! 

EMMA  LAZARUS 

70 

IN  EXILE 

(Tenth  Century.      From  Synagogale  Poesie  des  Mittelalters,  by  Leopold 

Zunz) 

Weary  and  long  are  the  years, 
Sorrow  grows  more  and  more  ; 

Scarcely  we  rest  from  our  fears, 
Our  trouble  never  is  o'er. 

All  the  seasons  pass  on, 
No  sign  is  seen  in  the  sky  ; 


IN    EXILE  179 

Each  ends  as  each  has  begun, 

The  ages  darkly  glide  by  ; 
And  the  grief  is  harder  to  bear, 

Old  sorrow  in  newest  array. 
I  dreamt  that  Redemption  was  near, 

I  saw  the  dawn  of  its  day ; 
Yet  still  the  troubles  remain, 

Still,  though  they  swore  it  would  come ; 
And  they  fix  new  seasons  again, 

And  they  tell  us  of  glory  and  home. 
So  the  days  of  the  exile  glide  on, 

In  dreams,  delusion,  and  woe, 
"To-day  or  to-morrow  the  sun 

Will  gladden  all  hearts  with  its  glow  ;  " 
And  the  faithful  count  up  the  days, 

Tell  out  their  tale  and  are  glad  ; 
But  none  of  us  knoweth  Thy  ways  ; 

Vain  yearning  maketh  us  sad. 

RABBI  JOSEPH 
Translation  from  the  German  by  E.  H.  Plumptre 


71 

THE  FIRST  CRUSADE 

(Mayence— from   Synagogale  Poesie  des  Mitlelalters,  by  Leopold   Zunz) 

Yes,  they  slay  us  and  they  smite, 
Vex  our  souls  w!th  sore  affright ; 
All  the  closer  cleave  we,  Lord, 
To  Thine  everlasting  word. 
Not  a  word  of  all  their  Mass 
Shall  our  lips  in  homage  pass ; 


ISO  THE    FIRST    CRUSADE 

Though  they  curse,  and  bind,  and  kill, 

The  living  God  is  with  us  still. 

Yes,  they  fain  would  make  us  now, 

Baptized,  at  Baal's  altars  bow; 

On  their  raiment,  wrought  with  gold, 

See  the  sign  we  hateful  hold  ; 

And,  with  words  of  foulest  shame 

They  outrage,  Lord,  the  holiest  Name : 

We  still  are  Thine,  though  limbs  are  torn  ; 

Better  death  than  life  forsworn. 

Noblest  matrons  seek  for  death, 

Rob  their  children  of  their  breath  ; 

Fathers,  in  their  fiery  zeal, 

Slay  their  sons  with  murderous  steel, 

And  in  heat  of  holiest  strife, 

For  love  of  Thee,  spare  not  their  life. 

The  fair  and  young  lie  down  to  die 

In  witness  of  Thy  Unity  ; 

From  dying  lips  the  accents  swell, 

"Thy  God  is  One,  O  Israel ;  " 

And  bridegroom  answers  unto  bride, 

"The  Lord  is  God,  and  none  beside  ;" 

And,  knit  with  bonds  of  holiest  faith, 

They  pass  to  endless  life  through  death. 

KALONYMOS    BEN    JEHUDA 
Translation  from  the  German  by  E.  H.  Plumptre 


THE   JEWS    OF    YORK.  l8l 

72 

THE  JEWS  OF  YORK 

(From  Curiosities  of  Literature) 

Among  the  most  interesting  passages  of  history 
are  those  in  which  we  contemplate  an  oppressed, 
yet  sublime  spirit,  agitated  by  the  conflict  of  two 
terrific  passions :  implacable  hatred  attempting  a 
resolute  vengeance,  while  that  vengeance,  though 
impotent,  with  dignified  and  silent  horror,  sinks 
into  the  last  expression  of  despair.  In  a  degener- 
ate nation,  we  may,  on  such  rare  occasions,  dis- 
cover among  them  a  spirit  superior  to  its  compan- 
ions and  its  fortune. 

In  the  ancient  and  modern  history  of  the  Jews 
we  may  find  two  kindred  examples.  I  refer  the 
reader  for  the  more  ancient  narrative,  to  the  second 
book  of  the  Maccabees,  chap.  xiv.  v.  37.  No 
feeble  and  unaffecting  painting  is  presented  in  the 
simplicity  of  the  original.  I  proceed  to  relate  the 
narrative  of  the  Jews  of  York. 

When  Richard  I  ascended  the  throne,  the  Jews, 
to  conciliate  the  royal  protection,  brought  their 
tributes.  Many  had  hastened  from  remote  parts 
of  England,  and  appearing  at  Westminster,  the 
court  and  the  mob  imagined  that  they  had  leagued 
to  bewitch  his  majesty.  An  edict  was  issued  to 
forbid  their  presence  at  the  coronation  ;  but  several, 
whose  curiosity  was  greater  than  their  prudence, 
conceived  that  they  might  pass  unobserved  among 
the  crowd,  and  ventured  to   insinuate  themselves 


1 82  THE   JEWS    OF    YORK 

into  the  abbey.  Probably  their  voice  and  their 
visage  alike  betrayed  them,  for  they  were  soon  dis- 
covered ;  they  flew  diversely  in  great  consternation, 
while  many  were  dragged  out  with  little  remains 
of  life. 

A  rumor  spread  rapidly  through  the  city,  that  in 
honor  of  the  festival,  the  Jews  were  to  be  massacred. 
The  populace,  at  once  eager  of  royalty  and  riot, 
pillaged  and  burnt  their  houses,  and  murdered  the 
devoted  Jews.  Benedict,  a  Jew  of  York,  to  save 
his  life,  received  baptism  ;  and  returning  to  that 
city,  with  his  friend  Jocenus,  the  most  opulent  of 
the  Jews,  died  of  his  wounds.  Jocenus  and  his 
servants  narrated  the  late  tragic  circumstances  to 
their  neighbors,  but  where  they  hoped  to  move 
sympathy,  they  excited  rage.  The  people  at  York 
soon  gathered  to  imitate  the  people  at  London ; 
and  their  first  assault  was  on  the  house  of  the  late 
Benedict,  which  having  some  strength  and  magni- 
tude, contained  his  family  and  friends,  who  found 
their  graves  in  its  ruins.  The  alarmed  Jews 
hastened  to  Jocenus,  who  conducted  them  to  the 
governor  of  York  Castle,  and  prevailed  on  him  to 
afford  them  an  asylum  for  their  persons  and  effects. 
In  the  meanwhile  their  habitations  were  levelled, 
and  the  owners  murdered,  except  a  few  unresisting 
beings,  who,  unmanly  in  sustaining  honor,  were 
adapted  to  receive  baptism. 

The  castle  had  sufficient  strength  for  their 
defence  ;  but  a  suspicion  arising  that  the  governor, 
who  often  went  out,  intended  to  betray  them,  they 
one  day  refused  him  entrance.     He  complained  to 


THE  JEWS    OF   YORK  183 

the  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
violent  party,  who  stood  deeply  indebted  to  the 
Jews,  uniting  with  him,  orders  were  issued  to  attack 
the  castle.  The  cruel  multitude,  united  with  the 
soldiery,  felt  such  a  desire  of  slaughtering  those 
they  intended  to  despoil,  that  the  sheriff,  repenting 
of  the  order,  revoked  it,  but  in  vain  ;  fanaticism 
and  robbery  once  set  loose  will  satiate  their  appe- 
tency for  blood  and  plunder.  They  solicited  the 
aid  of  the  superior  citizens,  who,  perhaps  not  owing 
quite  so  much  money  to  the  Jews,  humanely  re- 
fused it  ;  but  having  addressed  the  clergy  (the 
barbarous  clergy  of  those  days),  were  by  them 
animated,  conducted,  and  blest. 

The  leader  of  this  rabble  was  a  canon  regular, 
whose  zeal  was  so  fervent  that  he  stood  by  them  in 
his  surplice,  which  he  considered  as  a  coat  of  mail, 
and  reiteratedly  exclaimed,  "  Destroy  the  enemies 
of  Jesus  !  "  This  spiritual  laconism  invigorated  the 
arm  of  men  who  perhaps  wanted  no  other  stimula- 
tive than  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  immense 
property  of  the  besieged.  It  is  related  of  this 
canon,  that  every  morning  before  he  went  to  assist 
in  battering  the  walls,  he  swallowed  a  consecrated 
wafer.  One  day  having  approached  too  near,  de- 
fended as  he  conceived  by  his  surplice,  this  church 
militant  was  crushed  by  a  heavy  fragment  of  the 
wall,  rolled  from  the  battlement. 

But  the  avidity  of  certain  plunder  prevailed  over 
any  reflection,  which,  on  another  occasion,  the  loss 
of  so  pious  a  leader  might  have  raised.  Their 
attacks  continued  ;  till  at  length  the  Jews  perceived 


1 84  THE   JEWS    OF   YORK 

they  could  hold  out  no  longer,  and  a  council  was 
called,  to  consider  what  remained  to  be  done  in  the 
extremity  of  danger. 

Among  the  Jews,  their  elder  Rabbin  was  most 
respected.  It  has  been  customary  with  this  people 
to  invite  for  this  place  some  foreigner,  renowned 
among  them  for  the  depth  of  his  learning,  and  the 
sanctity  of  his  manners.  At  this  time  the  Haham, 
or  elder  Rabbin,  was  a  foreigner,  who  had  been 
sent  over  to  instruct  them  in  their  laws,  and  was  a 
person,  as  we  shall  observe,  of  no  ordinary  qualifi- 
cations. 

When  the  Jewish  council  was  assembled,  the 
Haham  rose,  and  addressed  them  in  this  manner: 
"  Men  of  Israel !  the  God  of  our  ancestors  is 
omniscient,  and  there  is  no  one  who  can  say,  Why 
doest  thou  this  ?  This  day  he  commands  us  to  die 
for  his  law  ;  for  that  law  which  we  have  cherished 
from  the  first  hour  it  was  given,  which  we  have 
preserved  pure  throughout  our  captivity  in  all 
nations,  and  which  for  the  many  consolations  it 
has  given  us,  and  the  eternal  hope  it  communicates, 
can  we  do  less  than  die  ?  Posterity  shall  behold 
this  book  of  truth,  sealed  with  our  blood  ;  and  our 
death,  while  it  displays  our  sincerity,  shall  impart 
confidence  to  the  wanderer  of  Israel.  Death  is 
before  our  eyes  ;  and  we  have  only  to  choose  an 
honorable  and  easy  one.  If  we  fall  into  the  hands 
of  our  enemies,  which  you  know  we  cannot  escape, 
our  death  will  be  ignominious  and  cruel;  for  these 
Christians,  who  picture  the  spirit  of  God  in  a  dove, 
and  confide  in  the  meek  Jesus,  are  athirst  for  our 


THE   JEWS    OF    YORK  185 

blood,  and  prowl  around  the  castle  like  wolves.  It 
is  therefore  my  advice  that  we  elude  their  tortures  ; 
that  we  ourselves  should  be  our  own  executioners ; 
and  that  we  voluntarily  surrender  our  lives  to  our 
Creator.  We  trace  the  invisible  Jehovah  in  his 
acts  ;  God  seems  to  call  for  us,  but  let  us  not  be 
unworthy  of  that  call.  Suicide,  on  occasions  like 
the  present,  is  both  rational  and  lawful ;  many 
examples  are  not  wanting  among  our  forefathers : 
as  I  advise,  men  of  Israel,  they  have  acted  on 
similar  occasions."  Having  said  this,  the  old  man 
sat  down  and  wept. 

The  assembly  was  divided  in  their  opinions. 
Men  of  fortitude  applauded  its  wisdom,  but  the 
pusillanimous  murmured  that  it  was  a  dreadful 
counsel. 

Again  the  Rabbin  rose,  and  spoke  these  few 
words  in  a  firm  and  decisive  tone.  "  My  children  ! 
since  we  are  not  unanimous  in  our  opinions,  let 
those  who  do  not  approve  of  my  advice  depart 
from  this  assembly ! "  -Some  departed,  but  the 
greater  number  attached  themselves  to  their  vener- 
able  priest.  They  now  employed  themselves  in 
consuming  their  valuables  by  fire;  and  every 
man,  fearful  of  trusting  to  the  timid  and  irresolute 
hand  of  the  women,  first  destroyed  his  wife  and 
children,  and  then  himself.  Jocenus  and  the  Rab- 
bin alone  remained.  Their  life  was  protracted  to 
the  last,  that  they  might  see  everything  performed, 
according  to  their  orders.  Jocenus  being  the 
chief  Jew  was  distinguished  by  the  last  mark  of 
human  respect   in    receiving  his   death    from   the 


1 86  THE   JEWS   OF   YORK 

consecrated  hand  of  the  aged  Rabbin,  who  im- 
mediately after  performed  the  melancholy  duty  on 
himself. 

All  this  was  transacted  in  the  depth  of  the 
night.  In  the  morning  the  walls  of  the  castle 
were  seen  wrapt  in  flames,  and  only  a  few  miser- 
able and  pusillanimous  beings,  unworthy  of  the 
sword,  were  viewed  on  the  battlements,  pointing 
to  their  extinct  brethren.  When  they  opened  the 
gates  of  the  castle,  these  men  verified  the  predic- 
tion of  their  late  Rabbin  ;  for  the  multitude, 
bursting  through  the  solitary  courts,  found  them- 
selves defrauded  of  their  hopes,  and  in  a  moment 
avenged  themselves  on  the  feeble  wretches,  who 
knew  not  to  die  with  honor. 

Such  is  the  narrative  of  the  Jews  of  York,  of 
whom  the  historian  can  only  cursorily  observe  that 
five  hundred  destroyed  themselves  ;  but  it  is  the 
philosopher  who  inquires  into  the  causes  and  the 
manner  of  these  glorious  suicides.  These  are 
histories  which  meet  only  the  eye  of  few,  yet  they 
are  of  infinitely  more  advantage  than  those  which 
are  read  by  everyone.  We  instruct  ourselves  in 
meditating  on  these  scenes  of  heroic  exertion  ; 
and  if  by  such  histories  we  make  but  a  slow  pro- 
gress in  chronology,  our  heart  is,  however,  ex- 
panded with  sentiment. 

I  admire  not  the  stoicism  of  Cato,  more  than 
the  fortitude  of  the  Rabbin  ;  or  rather  we  should 
applaud  that  of  the  Rabbin  much  more ;  for  Cato 
was  familiar  with  the  animating  visions  of  Plato, 
and  was   the   associate   of  Cicero   and  of  Caesar. 


TRIAL   OF   REBECCA  187 

The  Rabbin  had  probably  read  only  the  Pentateuch, 
and  mingled  with  companions  of  mean  occupations 
and  meaner  minds.  Cato  was  accustomed  to  the 
grandeur  of  the  mistress  of  the  universe,  and  the 
Rabbin  to  the  littleness  of  a  provincial  town. 
Men,  like  pictures,  may  be  placed  in  an  obscure 
and  unfavorable  light  ;  but  the  finest  picture,  in 
the  unilluminated  corner,  still  retains  the  design 
and  coloring  of  the  master.  My  Rabbin  is  a  com- 
panion for  Cato.      His  history  is    a  tale 

"Which  Cato's  self  had  not  disdained  to  hear." — pope 

ISAAC    DISRAELI 


73 

TRIAL  OF  REBECCA 

(From  Ivatihor) 

The  ponderous  castle-bell  had  tolled  the  point  of 
noon,  when  Rebecca  heard  a  trampling  of  feet  upon 
the  private  stair  which  led  to  her  place  of  confine- 
ment  The  door  of  the  chamber 

was  unlocked,  and  Conrade  and  the  Preceptor 
Malvoisin  entered,  attended  by  four  warders  clothed 
in  black,  and  bearing  halberds. 

"  Daughter  of  an  accursed  race  !  "  said  the  Pre- 
ceptor, "  arise  and  follow  us." 

"Whither,"  said  Rebecca,  "and  for  what  pur- 
pose ?  " 

"  Damsel,"  answered  Conrade,  "  it  is  not  for  thee 
to  question,  but  to  obey.  Nevertheless,  be  it  known 
to  thee,  that  thou  art  to  be   brought    before   the 


188  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

tribunal  of  the  Grand  Master  of  Our  Holy  Order, 
there  to  answer  for  thine  offences." 

"May  the  God  of  Abraham  be  praised!"  said 
Rebecca,  folding  her  hands  devoutly ;  "  the  name 
of  a  judge,  though  an  enemy  of  my  people,  is  to 
me  the  name  of  a  protector.  Most  willingly  do  I 
follow  thee — permit  me  only  to  wrap  my  veil  around 
my  head." 

They  descended  the  stair  with  slow  and  solemn 
step,  traversed  a  long  gallery,  and,  by  a  pair  of  fold- 
ing doors  placed  at  the  end,  entered  the  great  hall 
in  which  the  Grand  Master  had  for  the  time  estab- 
lished his  court  of  justice. 

The  lower  part  of  this  ample  apartment  was  filled 
with  squires  and  yeomen,  who  made  way  not  with- 
out some  difficulty  for  Rebecca,  attended  by  the 
Preceptor,  and  followed  by  the  guard  of  halber- 
diers, to  move  forward  to  the  seat  appointed  for 
her.  As  she  passed  through  the  crowd,  a  scrap  of 
paper  was  thrust  into  her  hand,  which  she  received 
almost  unconsciously,  and  continued  to  hold  with- 
out examining  its  contents. 

The  tribunal,  erected  for  the  trial  of  the  innocent 
and  unhappy  Rebecca,  occupied  the  dais  or  elevated 
part  of  the  upper  end  of  the  great  hall 

On  an  elevated  seat,  directly  before  the  accused, 
sat  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Temple  in  full  and 
ample  robes  of  flowing  white,  holding  in  his  hand 
the  mystic  staff,  which  bore  the  symbol  of  the 
Order.  At  his  feet  was  placed  a  table,  occupied  by 
two  scribes,  chaplains  of  the  Order,  whose  duty  it 


TRIAL    OF    REBECCA  I 89 

was  to  reduce  to  formal  record  the  proceedings  of 
the  day.  The  black  dresses,  bare  scalps,  and 
demure  looks  of  these  churchmen,  formed  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  warlike  appearance  of  the  knights 
who  attended,  either  as  residing  in  the  Preceptory, 
or  as  come  thither  to  attend  upon  their  Grand 
Master. 

The  remaining  and  lower  part  of  the  hall  was 
filled  with  guards,  holding  partizans,  and  with  other 
attendants  whom  curiosity  had  drawn  thither,  to 
see  at  once  a  Grand  Master  and  a  Jewish  sorceress. 

A  psalm  .  .  .  commenced  the  proceedings 
of  the  clay  ;  and  the  solemn  sounds,  Vcnite  cxulte- 
mus  Domino,  so  often  sung  by  the  Templars  before 
engaging  with  earthly  adversaries,  was  judged  by 
Lucas  most  appropriate  to  introduce  the  approach- 
ing triumph,  for  such  he  deemed  it,  over  the  powers 
of  darkness. 

The  Grand  Master  then  raised  his  voice,  and 
addressed  the  assembly. 

"  Reverend  and  valiant  men,  Knights,  Preceptors, 
and  Companions  of  this  Holy  Order,  my  brethren 
and  my  children! — you  also,  well-born  and  pious 
Esquires,  who  aspire  to  wear  this  Holy  Cross  !  — 
and  you  also,  Christian  brethren,  of  every  degree ! 
— Be  it  known  to  you,  that  it  is  not  defect  of  power 
in  us  which  hath  occasioned  the  assembling  of  this 
congregation  ;  for,  however  unworthy  in  our  person, 
yet  to  us  is  committed,  with  this  batoon,  full  power 


ICp  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

to  judge  and  to  try  all  that  regards  the  weal  of  this 
our  Holy  Order But  when  the  rag- 
ing wolf  hath  made  an  inroad  upon  the  flock,  and 
carried  off  one  member  thereof,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  kind  shepherd  to  call  his  comrades  together, 
that  with    bows   and    slings    they   may   quell    the 

invader We  have  therefore  summoned 

to  our  presence  a  Jewish  woman,  by  name  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  Isaac  of  York — a  woman  infamous  for 
sortileges  and  for  witcheries  ;  whereby  she  hath 
maddened  the  blood,  and  besotted  the  brain,  not  of 
a  churl,  but  of  a  Knight, — not  of  a  secular  Knight, 
but  of  one  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Holy 
Temple — not  of  a  Knight  Companion,  but  of  a 
Preceptor  of  our  Order,  first  in  honor  as  in  place. 

If  we  were  told  that  such  a  man,  so  honored,  and 
so  honorable,  suddenly  casting  away  regard  for  his 
character,  his  vows,  his  brethren,  and  his  prospects, 
had  associated  to  himself  a  Jewish  damsel,  wan- 
dered in  this  company  through  solitary  places, 
defended  her  person  in  preference  to  his  own  .  . 
.  .  what  should  we  say  but  that  the  noble  Knight 
was  possessed  by  some  evil  demon,  or  influenced  by 
some  wicked  spell  ?  ....  If  by  means  of 
charms  and  of  spells,  Satan  had  obtained  dominion 
over  the  Knight  ....  we  are  then  rather  to 
lament  than  chastise  his  backsliding  ;  and,  impos- 
ing on  him  only  such  penance  as  may  purify  him 
from  his  iniquity,  we  are  to  turn  the  full  edge  of 
our  indignation  upon  the  accursed  instrument,  which 
had  so  well-nigh  occasioned  his  utter  falling  away. 


TRIAL    OF    REBECCA  191 

— Stand  forth,  therefore,  and  bear  witness,  ye  who 
have  witnessed  these  unhappy  doings,  that  we  may 
judge  of  the  sum  and  bearing  thereof ;  and  judge 
whether  our  justice  may  be  satisfied  with  the  pun- 
ishment of  this  infidel  woman,  or  if  we  must  go  on, 
with  a  bleeding  heart,  to  the  further  proceedings 
against  our  brother." 

Several  witnesses  were  called  upon  to  prove  the 
risks  to  which  Bois-Guilbert  exposed  himself  in 
endeavoring  to  save  Rebecca  from  the  burning 
castle,  and  his  neglect  of  his  personal  defence  in 
attending  to  her  safety.  The  men  gave  these  details 
with  the  exaggerations  common  to  vulgar  minds 
which  have  been  strongly  excited  by  any  remark- 
able event,  and  their  natural  disposition  to  the 
marvellous  was  greatly  increased  by  the  satisfaction 
which  their  evidence  seemed  to  afford  to  the 
eminent  person  for  whose  information  it  had  been 
delivered. 

•  •••••••• 

"Were  it  not  well,  brethren,"  said  the  Grand 
Master,  "that  we  examine  something  into  the 
former  life  and  conversation  of  this  woman, 
specially  that  we  may  discover  whether  she  be  one 
likely  to  use  magical  charms  and  spells,  since  the 
truths  which  we  have  heard  may  well  incline  us  to 
suppose,  that  in  this  unhappy  course  our  erring 
brother   has   been   acted   upon   by   some   infernal 

enticement  and  delusion.  , 

Let  those  who  have  aught  to  witness  of  the  life 
and  conversation  of  this  Jewish  woman,  stand  forth 
before  us."     There  was  a  bustle  in  the  lower  part 


192  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

of  the  hall,  and  when  the  Grand  Master  inquired 
the  reason,  it  was  replied,  there  was  in  the  crowd 
a  bedridden  man,  whom  the  prisoner  had  restored 
to  the  perfect  use  of  his  limbs  by  a  miraculous 
balsam. 

The  poor  peasant,  a  Saxon  by  birth,  was  dragged 
forward  to  the  bar,  terrified  at  the  penal  conse- 
quences which  he  might  have  incurred  by  the  guilt 
of  having  been  cured  of  the  palsy  by  a  Jewish 
damsel.  Perfectly  cured  he  certainly  was  not,  for 
he  supported  himself  forward  on  crutches  to  give 
evidence.  Most  unwilling  was  his  testimony,  and 
given  with  many  tears  ;  but  he  admitted  that  two 
years  since,  when  residing  at  York,  he  was  suddenly 
afflicted  with  a  sore  disease,  while  laboring  for  Isaac 
the  rich  Jew,  in  his  vocation  of  a  joiner :  that  he 
had  been  unable  to  stir  from  his  bed  until  the 
remedies  applied  by  Rebecca's  directions,  and 
especially  a  warming  and  spicy-smelling  balsam, 
had  in  some  degree  restored  him  to  the  use  of  his 
limbs.  Moreover,  he  said,  she  had  given  him  a  pot 
of  that  precious  ointment,  and  furnished  him  with 
a  piece  of  money  withal,  to  return  to  the  house  of 
his  father,  near  to  Templestowe.  "  And  may  it 
please  your  gracious  Reverence,"  said  the  man,  "  I 
cannot  think  the  damsel  meant  harm  by  me,  though 
she  hath  the  ill  hap  to  be  a  Jewess  ;  for  even  when 
I  used  her  remedy,  I  said  the  Pater  and  the  Creed, 
and  it  never  operated  a  whit  less  kindly." 

" Peace,  slave,"  said  the  Grand  Master,  "and  be- 
gone !  It  well  suits  brutes  like  thee  to  be  tampering 
with  hellish  cures,  and  to  be  giving  your  labor  to  the 


TRIAL    OF    REBECCA  1 93 

sons  of  mischief.  I  tell  thee,  the  fiend  can  impose 
diseases  for  the  very  purpose  of  removing  them,  in 
order  to  bring  into  credit  some  diabolical  fashion 
of  cure.  Hast  thou  that  unguent  of  which  thou 
speakest  ?" 

The  peasant,  fumbling  in  his  bosom  with  a  trem- 
bling hand,  produced  a  small  box,  bearing  some 
Hebrew  characters  on  the  lid,  which  was,  with 
most  of  the  audience,  a  sure  proof  that  the  devil 
had  stood  apothecary.  Beaumanoir,  after  crossing 
himself,  took  the  box  into  his  hand,  and,  learned  in 
most  of  the  Eastern  tongues,  read  with  ease  the 
motto  on  the  lid, —  The  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah 
has  conquered.  "Strange  powers  of  Sathanas," 
said  he,  "which  can  convert  Scripture  into 
blasphemy,  mingling  poison  with  our  necessary 
food  ! — Is  there  no  leech  here  who  can  tell  us  the 
ingredients  of  this  mystic  unguent  ?" 

Two  mediciners,  as  they  called  themselves,  the 
one  a  monk,  the  other  a  barber,  appeared,  and 
avouched  they  knew  nothing  of  the  materials, 
excepting  that  they  savored  of  myrrh  and  camphire, 
which  they  took  to  be  Oriental  herbs.  But  with 
the  true  professional  hatred  to  a  successful  prac- 
titioner of  their  art,  they  insinuated  that,  since  the 
medicine  was  beyond  their  own  knowledge,  it  must 
necessarily  have  been  compounded  from  an  unlaw- 
ful and  magical  pharmacopoeia.  .  .  When  this 
medical  research  was  ended,  the  Saxon  peasant 
desired  humbly  to  have  back  the  medicine  which 
he  had  found  so  salutary  ;  but  the  Grand  Master 
frowned  severely  at  the  request.  "What  is  thy 
name,  fellow  ?"   said  he  to  the  cripple. 


194  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

"  Higg,  the  son  of  Snell,"  answered  the  peasant. 
"Then  Higg,  son  of  Snell,"  said  the  Grand  Master, 
"I  tell  thee  it  is  better  to  be  bedridden,  than  to  ac- 
cept the  benefit  of  unbelievers'  medicine  that  thou 
mayest  arise  and  walk ;  better  to  despoil  infidels 
of  their  treasure  by  the  strong  hand,  than  to  ac- 
cept of  them  benevolent  gifts,  or  do  them  service 
for  wages.     Go  thou,  and  do  as  I  have  said." 

"Alack,"  said  the  peasant,  "an  it  shall  not  dis- 
please your  Reverence,  the  lesson  comes  too  late 
for  me,  for  I  am  but  a  maimed  man  ;  but  I  will  tell 
my  two  brethren,  who  serve  the  rich  Rabbi, 
Nathan  Ben  Samuel,  that  your  mastership  says  it 
is  more  lawful  to  rob  him  than  to  render  him  faith- 
ful service."    

At  this  period  of  the  trial,  the  Grand  Master 
commanded  Rebecca  to  unveil  herself.  Opening 
her  lips  for  the  first  time,  she  replied  patiently,  but 
with  dignity, — "  that  it  was  not  the  wont  of  the 
daughters  of  her  people  to  uncover  their  faces 
when  alone  in  an  assembly  of  strangers."  The 
sweet  tones  of  her  voice,  and  the  softness  of  her 
reply,  impressed  on  the  audience  a  sentiment  of 
pity  and  sympathy.  But  Beaumanoir,  in  whose 
mind  the  suppression  of  each  feeling  of  humanity 
which  could  interfere  with  his  imagined  duty,  was 
a  virtue  of  itself,  repeated  his  commands  that  his 
victim  should  be  unveiled.  The  guards  were 
about  to  remove  her  veil  accordingly,  when  she 
stood  up  before  the  Grand  Master  and  said,  "  Nay, 
but  for  the  love  of  your  own  daughters — Alas  !  " 
she  said,  recollecting  herself,  "ye  have  no  daugh- 


TRIAL    OF    REBECCA  IQ5 

ters  ! — yet  for  the  remembrance  of  your  mothers 
for  the  love  of  your  sisters,  and  of  female  decency, 
let  me  not  be  thus  handled  in  your  presence  ;  it 
suits  not  a  maiden  to  be  disrobed  by  such  rude 
grooms.  I  will  obey  you,"  she  added  with  an  ex- 
pression of  patient  sorrow  in  her  voice,  which  had 
almost  melted  the  heart  of  Beaumanoir  himself; 
''ye  are  elders  among  your  people,  and  at  your 
command  I  will  show  the  features  of  an  ill-fated 
maiden." 

She  withdrew  her  veil  and  looked  on  them  with 
a  countenance  in  which  bashfulness  contended 
with  dignity.  Her  exceeding  beauty  excited  a 
murmur  of  surprise 

But  Higg,  the  son  of  Snell,  felt  most  deeply  the 
effect  produced  by  the  sight  of  the  countenance 
of  his  benefactress.  "  Let  me  go  forth,"  he  said 
to  the  warders  at  the  door  of  the  hall — "  let  mesro 
forth  ! — To  look  at  her  again  will  kill  me,  for  I 
have  had  a  share  in  murdering  her." 

"Peace,  poor  man,"  said  Rebecca,  when  she 
heard  his  exclamation ;  "  thou  hast  done  me  no 
harm  by  speaking  the  truth — thou  canst  not  aid 
me  by  thy  complaints  or  lamentations.  Peace,  I 
pray  thee — go  home  and  save  thyself."       .... 

The  two  men-at-arms,  with  whom  Albert  Mal- 
voisin  had  not  failed  to  communicate  upon  the  im- 
port of  their  testimony,  were  now  called  forward. 
Though  both  were  hardened  and  inflexible  villains, 
the  sight  of  the  captive  maiden,  as  well  as  her  ex- 
celling beauty,  at  first  appeared  to  stagger  them  ; 
but  an  expressive  glance  from    the  Preceptor  of 


I96  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

Templestowe  restored  them  to  their  dogged  com- 
posure, and  they  delivered,  with  a  precision  which 
would  have  seemed  suspicious  to  more  impartial 
judges,  circumstances  either  altogether  fictitious  or 
trivial,  and  natural  in  themselves,  but  rendered 
pregnant  with  suspicion  by  the  exaggerated  man- 
ner in  which  they  were  told,  and  the  sinister  com- 
mentary which  the  witnesses  added  to  the  facts. 
The  circumstances  of  their  evidence  would  have 
been,  in  modern  days,  divided  into  two  classes— 
those  which  were  immaterial,  and  those  which 
were  actually  and  physically  impossible. 

The  Grand  Master  had  collected  the  suffrages, 
and  now  in  a  solemn  tone  demanded  of  Rebecca 
what  she  had  to  say  against  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation, which  he  was  about  to  pronounce. 

"To  invoke  your  pity,"  said  the  lovely  Jewess, 
with  a  voice  somewhat  tremulous  with  emotion, 
"  would,  I  am  aware,  be  as  useless  as  I  should  hold 
it  mean.  To  state  that  to  relieve  the  sick  and 
wounded  of  another  religion,  cannot  be  displeasing 
to  the  acknowledged  Founder  of  both  our  faiths, 
were  also  unavailing ;  to  plead  that  many  things 
which  these  men  (whom  may  Heaven  pardon  ! ) 
have  spoken  against  me  are  impossible,  would 
avail  me  but  little,  since  you  believe  in  their  possi- 
bility ;  and  still  less  would  it  advantage  me  to 
explain,  that  the  peculiarities  of  my  dress,  lan- 
guage, and  manners  are  those  of  my  people — I  had 
well-nigh  said  of  my  country,  but  alas  !  we  have  no 
country.     Nor  will  I  even  vindicate  myself  at  the 


TRIAL    OF    KEBECCA  197 

expense  of  my  oppressor,  who  stands  there  listen- 
ing to  the  fictions  and  surmises  which  seem  to 
convert  the  tyrant  into  the  victim.-  God  be  judge 
between  him  and  me  ! 

"But  he  is  of  your  own  faith,  and  his  lightest 
affirmance  would  weigh  down  the  most  solemn 
protestations  of  the  distressed  Jewess.  I  will  not 
therefore  return  to  himself  the  charge  brought 
against  me — but  to  himself — yes,  Brian  de  Bois- 
Guilbert,  to  thyself  I  appeal,  whether  these  accusa- 
tions are  not  false  ?  as  monstrous  and  calumnious 
as  they  are  deadly  ?  " 

There  was  a  pause ;  all  eyes  turned  to  Brian  de 
Bois-Guilbert.     He  was  silent. 

"  Speak,"  she  said,  "if  thou  art  a  man— a  Chris- 
tian, speak! — I  conjure  thee  by  the  habit  which 
thou  dost  wear,  by  the  name  thou  dost  inherit — by 
the  knighthood  thou  dost  vaunt — by  the  honor  of 
thy  mother — by  the  tomb  and  the  bones  of  thy 
father — I  conjure  thee  to  say,  are  these  things 
true?" 

"Answer  her,  brother,"  said  the  Grand  Master, 
"if  the  Enemy  with  whom  thou  dost  wrestle  will 
give  thee  power." 

In  fact,  Bois-Guilbert  seemed  agitated  by  con- 
tending passions,  which  almost  convulsed  his  feat- 
ures, and  it  was  with  a  constrained  voice  that  at 
last  he  replied,  looking  to  Rebecca, — "  The  scroll ! 
— the  scroll !  " 

"Ay,"  said  Beaumanoir,  "this  is  indeed  testi- 
mony !  The  victim  of  her  witcheries  can  only  name 
the  fatal  scroll,  the  spell  inscribed  on  which  is, 
doubtless,  the  cause  of  his  silence." 


I98  TRIAL    OF    REBECCA 

But  Rebecca  put  another  interpretation  on  the 
words  extorted  as  it  were  from  Bois-Guilbert,  and 
glancing  her  eye  upon  the  slip  of  parchment  which 
she  continued  to  hold  in  her  hand,  she  read  written 
thereupon  in  the  Arabian  character,  Demand  a 
champion!  The  murmuring  commentary  which  ran 
through  the  assembly  at  the  strange  reply  of  Bois- 
Guilbert  gave  Rebecca  leisure  to  examine  and 
instantly  to  destroy  the  scroll  unobserved.  When 
the  whisper  had  ceased,  the  Grand  Master  spoke. 

"  Rebecca,  thou  canst  derive  no  benefit  from  the 
evidence  of  this  unhappy  Knight,  for  whom,  as  we 
well  perceive,  the  Enemy  is  yet  too  powerful.  Hast 
thou  aught  else  to  say  ?  " 

"There  is  yet  one  chance  of  life  left  to  me,"  said 
Rebecca,  "  even  by  your  own  fierce  laws.  Life  has 
been  miserable — miserable,  at  least,  of  late — but  I 
will  not  cast  away  the  gift  of  God,  while  he  affords 
me  the  means  of  defending  it.  I  deny  this  charge 
— I  maintain  my  innocence,  and  I  declare  the  false- 
hood of  this  accusation — I  challenge  the  privilege 
of  trial  by  combat,  and  will  appear  by  my  cham- 
pion." 

"  And  who,  Rebecca,"  replied  the  Grand  Mas- 
ter, "will  lay  lance  in  rest  for  a  sorceress?  who 
will  be  the  champion  of  a  Jewess  ?  " 

"  God  will  raise  me  up  a  champion,"  said  Rebecca 
— "  It  cannot  be  that  in  merry  England — the  hos- 
pitable, the  generous,  the  free,  where  so  many  are 
ready  to  peril  their  lives  for  honor,  there  will  not 
be  found  one  to  fight  for  justice.  But  it  is  enough 
that  I  challenge  the  trial  by  combat — there  lies  my 
gage." 


the  jew's  gift  199 

She  took  her  embroidered  glove  from  her  hand, 
and  flung  it  down  before  the  Grand  Master  with  an 
air  of  mingled  simplicity  and  dignity,  which  excited 
universal  surprise  and  admiration. 

SIR    WALTER    SCOTT 


74 
THE  JEW'S  GIET 

A.D.  1200 

The  Abbot  willed  it,  and  it  was  done. 
They  hanged  him  high  in  an  iron  cage 
For  the  spiteful  wind  and  the  patient  sun 
To  bleach  him.     Faith,  't  was  a  cruel  age ! 
Just  for  no  crime  they  hanged  him  there. 
When  one  is  a  Jew,  why,  one  remains 
A  Jew  to  the  end,  though  he  swing  in  air 
From  year  to  year  in  a  suit  of  chains. 

'Twas  May,  and  the  buds  into  blossom  broke, 
And  the  apple-boughs  were  pink  and  white  : 
What  grewsome  fruit  was  that  on  the  oak, 
Swaying  and  swaying,  day  and  night ! 
The  miller,  urging  his  piebald  mare 
Over  the  cross-road,  stopped  and  leered ; 
I5ut  never  an  urchin  ventured  there, 
For  fear  of  the  dead  man's  long  white  beard. 

A  long  white  beard  like  carded  wool, 
Reaching  down  to  the  very  knee — 
Of  the  proper  sort  with  which  to  pull 
A  heretic  Jew  to  the  gallows-tree  ! 


2oo  the  jew's  gift 

Piteous  women-folk  turned  away, 
Having  no  heart  for  such  a  thing; 
But  the  blackbirds  on  the  alder-spray 
For  very  joy  of  it  seemed  to  sing. 

Whenever  a  monk  went  shuffling  by 
To  the  convent  over  against  the  hill, 
He  would  lift  a  pitiless  pious  eye, 
And  mutter,  "The  Abbot  but  did  God's  will ! " 
And  the  Abbot  himself  slept  no  whit  less, 
But  rather  the  more,  for  this  his  deed  : 
And  the  May  moon  filled,  and  the  loveliness 
Of  springtide  flooded  upland  and  mead. 

Then  an  odd  thing  chanced.     A  certain  clown, 
On  a  certain  morning  breaking  stone 
By  the  hill-side,  saw,  as  he  glanced  down, 
That  the  heretic's  long  white  beard  was  gone — 
Shaved  as  clean  and  close  as  you  choose, 
As  close  and  clean  as  his  polished  pate  ! 
Like  wild-fire  spread  the  marvellous  news, 
From  the  ale-house  bench  to  the  convent  srate. 

And  the  good  folk  flocked  from  far  and  near, 
And  the  monks  trooped  down  the  rocky  height : 
'Twas  a  miracle,  that  was  very  clear — ■ 
The  Devil  had  shaved  the  Israelite ! 
Where  is  the  Abbot  ?  Quick,  go  tell  ! 
Summon  him,  knave,  God's  death  !  straightway  ! 
The  Devil  hath  sent  his  barber  from  hell, 
Perchance  there  will  be  the  Devil  to  pay  ! 


THE   JEW  S    GIFT  201 

Now  a  lad  that  had  climbed  an  aider-tree, 
The  better  to  overlook  the  rest, 
Suddenly  gave#a  shout  of  glee 
At  finding  a  wondrous  blackbird-nest, 
Then  suddenly  flung  it  from  his  hand, 
For  lo  !  it  was  woven  of  human  hair, 
Plaited  and  braided,  strand  upon  strand — 
No  marvel  the  heretic's  chin  was  bare  ! 

Silence  fell  upon  priest  and  clown, 

Each  stood  riveted  in  his  place  ; 

The  brat  that  tugged  at  his  mother's  gown 

Caught  the  terror  that  blanched  her  face. 

Then  one,  a  patriarch,  bent  and  gray, 

Wise  with  the  grief  of  years  fourscore, 

Picked  up  his  staff,  and  took  his  way 

By  the  mountain-path  to  the  Abbot's  door — 

And  bravely  told  this  thing  of  the  nest, 

How  the  birds  had  never  touched  cheek  or  eye, 

But  daintily  plucked  the  fleece  from  the  breast 

To  build  a  home  for  their  young  thereby. 

"  Surely,  if  they  were  not  afeard 

(God's  little  choristers,  free  of  guile  !  ) 

To  serve  themselves  of  the  Hebrew's  beard, 

It  was  that  he  was  not  wholly  vile  ! 

"  Perhaps  they  saw  with  their  keener  eyes 
The  grace  that  we  missed,  but  which  God  sees : 
Ah,  but  He  reads  all  hearts  likewise, 
The  good  in  those,  and  the  guilt  in  these. 
Precious  is  mercy,  O  my  lord  ! " 
Humbly  the  Abbot  bowed  his  head, 


202  PLEA    FOR    THE  JEWS 

And  making  a  gesture  of  accord — 

"What  would  you  have?  The  knave  is  dead." 

"  Certes,  the  man  is  dead  !  No  doubt 
Deserved  to  die  ;  as  a  Jew,  he  died  ; 
But  now  he  hath  served  the  sentence  out 
(With  a  dole  or  two  thrown  in  beside), 
Suffered  all  that  he  may  of  men- 
Why  not  earth  him,  and  no  more  words  ?  " 
The  Abbot  pondered,  and  smiled,  and  then — 
"Well,  well !  since  he  gave  his  beard  to  the  birds! 

THOMAS    BAILEY    ALDRICH 


75 

PLEA  FOR  THE  JEWS  BEFORE  THE 
COUNCIL  AT  NORDHAUSEN 

(From  The  Dance  to  Death) 

Tettenborn.     Rabbi  Jacob, 
And  thou,  Slisskind  von  Orb,  bow  down,  and  learn 
The  Council's  pleasure.     You,  the  least  despised 
By  true  believers,  and  most  reverenced 
By  your  own  tribe,  we  grace  with  our  free  leave 
To  enter,  yea,  to  lift  your  voices  here, 
Amid  these  wise  and  honorable  men, 
If  ye  find  aught  to  plead,  that  mitigates 
The  just  severity  of  your  doom.     Our  prince, 
Frederick  the  Grave,  Patron  of  Nordhausen, 
Ordains  that  all  the  Jews  within  his  lands, 


PLEA   FOR   THE   JEWS  203 

For  the  foul  crime  of  poisoning  the  wells, 
Bringing  the  Black  Death  upon  Christendom, 
Shall  be  consumed  with  flame. 

Rabbi  Jacob.     V  the  name  of  God, 
Your  God  and  ours,  have  mercy ! 

Siisskind.     Noble  lords, 
Burghers  and  artisans  of  Nordhausen, 
Wise,  honorable,  just,  God-fearing  men, 
Shall  ye  condemn  or  ever  ye  have  heard  ? 
Sure,  one  at  least  owns  here  the  close,  kind  name 
Of  Brother — unto  him  I  turn.     At  least, 
Some  sit  among  you  who  have  wedded  wives, 
Bear  the  dear  title  and  the  precious  charge 
Of  Husband — unto  these  I  speak.     Some  here 
Are  crowned,  it  may  be,  with  the  sacred  name 
Of  Father— unto  these  I  pray.     All,  all 
Are  sons — all  have  been  children,  all  have  known 
The  love  of  parents — unto  these  I  cry  : 
Have  mercy  on  us,  we  are  innocent, 
Who  are  brothers,  husbands,  fathers,  sons  as  ye  ! 
Look  you,  we  have  dwelt  among  you  many  years, 
Led  thrifty,  peaceable,  well-ordered  lives. 
Who  can  attest,  who  prove  we  ever  wrought 
Or  ever  did  devise  the  smallest  harm, 
Far  less  this  fiendish  crime  against  the  State  ? 
Rather  let  those  arise  who  owe  the  Jews 
Some  debt  of  unpaid  kindness,  profuse  alms, 
The  Hebrew  leech's  serviceable  skill, 
Who  know  our  patience  under  injury, 
And  ye  would  see,  if  all  stood  bravely  forth, 
A  motley  host,  led  by  the  Landgrave's  self, 
Recruited  from  all  ranks,  and  in  the  rear, 


204  PLEA   FOR   THE  JEWS 

The  humblest,  veriest  wretch  in  Nordhausen. 

We  know  the  Black  Death  is  a  scourge  of  God. 

Is  not  our  flesh  as  capable  of  pain, 

Our  blood  as  quick  envenomed  as  your  own  ? 

Has  the  Destroying  Angel  passed  the  posts 

Of  Jewish  doors — to  visit  Christian  homes  ? 

We  all  are  slaves  of  one  tremendous  Hour. 

We  drink  the  waters  that  our  enemies  say 

We  spoil  with  poison, — we  must  breathe,  as  ye, 

The  universal  air, — we  droop,  faint,  sicken, 

From  the  same  causes  to  the  selfsame  end. 

Ye  are  not  strangers  to  me,  though  ye  wear 

Grim  masks  to-day — lords,  knights,  and  citizens, 

Few  do  I  see  whose  hand  has  pressed  not  mine, 

In  cordial  greeting.     Dietrich  von  Tettenborn, 

If  at  my  death  my  wealth  be  confiscate 

Unto  the  State,  bethink  you,  lest  she  prove 

A  harsher  creditor  than  I  have  been. 

Stout  Meister  Rolapp,  may  you  never  again 

Languish  so  nigh  to  death  that  Simon's  art 

Be  needed  to  restore  your  lusty  limbs. 

Good  Hugo  Schultz — ah  !  be  those  blessed  tears 

Remembered  unto  you  in  Paradise  ! 

Look  there,  my  lords,  one  of  your  council  weeps, 

If  you  be  men,  why,  then  an  angel  sits 

On  yonder  bench.     You  have  good  cause  to  weep, 

You  who  are  Christian,  and  disgraced  in  that 

Whereof  you  made  your  boast.     I  have  no  tears. 

A  fiery  wrath  has  scorched  their  source,  a  voice 

Shrills  through  my  brain — "Not  upon  us,  on  them 

Fall  everlasting  woe,  if  this  thing  be  !  " 


PLEA    FOR    THE    JEWS  205 

Rabbi  Jacob.     Your  pardon,  lords, 
I  think  you  know  not  just  what  you  would  do. 
You  say  the  Jews  shall  burn — shall  burn  you  say; 
Why,  good  my  lords,  the  Jews  are  not  a  flock 
Of  gallows-birds,  they  are  a  colony 
Of  kindly,  virtuous  folk.     Come  home  with  me  ; 
I'll  show  you  happy  hearths,  glad  roofs,  pure  lives. 
Why,  some  of  them  are  little  quick-eyed  boys, 
Some,  pretty,  ungrown  maidens  — children's  children 
Of  those  who  called  me  to  the  pastorate. 
And  some  are  beautiful  tall  girls,  some,  youths 
Of  marvellous  promise,  some  are  old  and  sick, 
Amongst  them  there  be  mothers,  infants,  brides, 
Just  like  your  Christian  people,  for  all  the  world. 
Know  ye  what  burning  is  ?  Hath  one  of  you 
Scorched  ever  his  soft  flesh,  or  singed  his  beard, 
His  hair,  his  eyebrows — felt  the  keen,  fierce  nip 
Of  the  pungent  flame — and  raises  not  his  voice 
To  stop  this  holocaust  ?  God  !  'tis  too  horrible  ! 
Wake  me,  my  friends,  from  this  terrific  dream. 

Schnetzen.       Enough !      I    pray    you,    my    lord 
President, 

End  this  unseemly  scene 

Send  the  twain 

Back  to  their  people,  that  the  court's  decree 
Be  published  unto  all. 

Siisskind.  Lord  Tettenborn  ! 

Citizens  !  will  you  see  this  nameless  crime 
Brand  the  clean  earth,  blacken  the  crystal  heaven  ? 
Why,  no  man  stirs  !  God  !  with  what  thick  strange 
fumes 


206  EXHORTATION    TO    THE    JEWS 

Hast  thou,  o'  the  sudden,  brutalized  their  sense ; 

Or  am  I  mad  ?  Is  this  already  hell  ? 

Worshipful  fiends,  I  have  good  store  of  gold, 

Packed  in  my  coffers,  or  loaned  out  to — Christians  ; 

I  give  it  you  as  free  as  night  bestows 

Her  copious  dews — my  life  shall  seal  the  bond, 

Have  mercy  on  my  race  ! 

Tettenborn.  No  more,  no  more  ! 

Go,  bid  your  tribe  make  ready  for  their  death 
At  sunset. 

Susskind.  Courage,  brother, 

Our  fate  is  sealed.     These  tigers  are  athirst. 
Return  we  to  our  people  to  proclaim 
The  gracious  sentence  of  the  noble  court. 
Let  us  go  thank  the  Lord,  who  made  us  those 
To  suffer,  not  to  do,  this  deed. 

EMMA    LAZARUS 


76 

EXHORTATION  TO  THE  JEWS  OF 
NORDHAUSEN. 

(From  The  Dance  to  Death) 

Rabbi  Jacob.     The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  the  broken 
heart. 
Out  of  the  depths  we  cry  to  thee,  oh  God  ! 
Show  us  the  path  of  everlasting  life  ; 
For  in  thy  presence  is  the  plenitude 
Of  joy,  and  in  thy  right  hand  endless  bliss. 


EXHORTATION    TO    THE   JEWS  20/ 

Susskind.     Brethren,  my  cup  is  full ! 
Oh  let  us  die  as  warriors  of  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  is  great  in  Zion.     Let  our  death 
Bring  no  reproach  to  Jacob,  no  rebuke 
To  Israel.     I  lark  ye  !  let  us  crave  one  boon 
At  our  assassins'  hands  ;  beseech  them  build 
Within  God's  acre  where  our  fathers  sleep, 
A  dancing-floor  to  hide  the  fagots  stacked. 
Then  let  the  minstrels  strike  the  harp  and  lute, 
And  we  will  dance  and  sing  above  the  pile, 
Fearless  of  death,  until  the  flames  engulf, 
Even  as  David  danced  before  the  Lord, 
As  Miriam  danced  and  sang  beside  the  sea. 
Great  is  our  Lord.     His  name  is  glorious 
In  Judah,  and  extolled  in  Israel ! 
In  Salem  is  his  tent,  his  dwelling  place 
In  Zion  ;  let  us  chant  the  praise  of  God  ! 

A  Jew.     Siisskind,  thou  speakest  well  !  we  will 
meet  death 
With  dance  and  song.     Embrace  him  as  a  bride. 
So  that  the  Lord  receive  us  in  His  tent. 

Several  Voices.    Amen  !  amen  !  amen  !  we  dance 
to  death. 

Rabbi  Jacob.     Susskind,  go  forth  and  beg  this 
grace  of  them. 

Siisskind.     Brethren,  our  prayer,  being  the  last, 
is  jiranted. 
The  hour  approaches.     Let  our  thoughts  ascend 
From  mortal  anguish,  to  the  ecstasy 
Of  martyrdom,  the  blessed  death  of  those 
Who  perish  in  the  Lord,     I  see,  I  see 


208  EXHORTATION    TO    THE   JEWS 

How  Israel's  ever-crescent  glory  makes 

These  flames  that  would  eclipse  it,  dark  as  blots 

Of  candlelight  against  the  blazing  sun. 

We   die   a   thousand    deaths, — drown,    bleed,    and 

burn  ; 
Our  ashes  are  dispersed  unto  the  winds. 
Yet  the  wild  winds  cherish  the  sacred  seed, 
The  waters  guard  it  in  their  crystal  heart, 
The  fire  refuseth  to  consume.     It  springs, 
A  tree  immortal,  shadowing  many  lands, 
Unvisited,  unnamed,  undreamed  as  yet. 
Rather  a  vine  full-flowered,  golden-branched, 
Ambrosial-fruited,  creeping  on  the  earth, 
Trod  by  the  passer's  foot,  yet  chosen  to  deck 
Tables  of  princes.     Israel  now  has  fallen 
Into  the  depths,  he  shall  be  great  in  time. 
Even  as  we  die  in  honor,  from  our  death 
Shall  bloom  a  myriad  heroic  lives, 
Brave  through  our  bright  example,  virtuous 
Lest  our  great  memory  fall  in  disrepute. 
Is  one  among  us,  brothers,  would  exchange 
His  doom  against  our  tyrants, — lot  for  lot  ? 
Let  him  go  forth  and  live — he  is  no  Jew. 
Is  one  who  would  not  die  in  Israel 
Rather  than  live  in  Christ, — their  Christ  who  smiles 
On  such  a  deed  as  this?  Let  him  go  forth— 
He  may  die  full  of  years  upon  his  bed. 
Ye  who  nurse  rancor  haply  in  your  hearts, 
Fear  ye  we  perish  unavenged  ?  not  so ! 
To-day,  no  !  nor  to-morrow  !  but  in  God's  time, 
Our  witnesses  arise.     Ours  is  truth, 
Ours  is  the  power,  the  gift  of  Heaven.     We  hold 


THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  SPAIN     209 

His  Law,  His  lamp,  His  covenant,  His  pledge. 
Wherever  in  the  ages  shall  arise 
Jew-priest,  Jew-poet,  Jew-singer,  or  Jew-saint- 
And  everywhere  I  see  them  star  the  gloom- 
In  each  of  these  the  martyrs  are  avenged  ! 

Rabbi  Jacob.       Bring   from    the    ark,    the    bell- 
fringed,  silken-bound 
Scrolls  of  the  Law.     Gather  the  silver  vessels, 
Dismantle  the  rich  curtains  of  the  doors, 
Bring  the  perpetual  lamp  ;  all  these  shall  burn, 
For  Israel's  light  is  darkened,  Israel's  Law 
Profaned  by  strangers.     Thus  the  Lord  has  said  : 1 
The  weapon  formed  against  thee  shall  not   pros- 
per, 
The  tongue  that  shall  contend  with  thee  in  judg- 
ment, 
Thou  shalt  condemn.     This  is  the  heritage 
Of  the  Lord's  servants  and  their  righteousness. 
For  thou  shalt  come  to  peoples  yet  unborn 
Declaring  that  which  He  hath  done.     Amen. 

EMMA    LAZARUS 


77 

THE   EXPULSION    OF   THE  JEWS 
FROM  SPAIN 

(From  Comngsby) 

Whence  came  those  Hebrew  Arabs  whose  pass- 
age across  the  strait  from  Africa  to  Europe  long 

1  Conclusion  of  service  for  Day  of  Atonement.     E.  L. 


210     THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  SPAIN 

preceded  the  invasion  of  the  Mohammedan  Arabs, 
it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain.  Their  traditions 
tell  us  that  from  time  immemorial  they  had  so- 
journed in  Africa;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
they  may  have  been  the  descendants  of  some  of 
the  earlier  dispersions  ;  like  those  Hebrew  colonies 
that  we  find  in  China,  and  who  probably  emigrated 
from  Persia  in  the  days  of  the  great  monarchies.. 
Whatever  may  have  been  their  origin  in  Africa, 
their  fortunes  in  southern  Europe  are  not  difficult 
to  trace,  though  the  annals  of  no  race  in  any  age 
can  detail  a  history  of  such  strange  vicissitudes, 
or  one  rife  with  more  touching  and  romantic  inci- 
dent. Their  unexampled  prosperity  in  the  Spanish 
Peninsula,  and  especially  in  the  south,  where  they 
had  become  the  principal  cultivators  of  the  soil, 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Goths  ;  and  the  Coun- 
cils of  Toledo  during  the  sixth  and  seventh  centu- 
ries attempted,  by  a  series  of  decrees  worthy  of 
the  barbarians  who  promulgated  them,  to  root  the 
Jewish  Arabs  out  of  the  land.  There  is  no  doubt 
the  Council  of  Toledo  led  as  directly  as  the  lust  of 
Roderick  to  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  the  Moslemin 
Arabs.  The  Jewish  population  suffering  under  the 
most  sanguinary  and  atrocious  persecution  looked 
to  their  sympathizing  brethren  of  the  Crescent, 
whose  camps  already  gleamed  on  the  opposite 
shore.  The  overthrow  of  the  Gothic  kingdoms 
was  as  much  achieved  by  the  superior  information 
which  the  Saracens  received  from  their  suffering 
kinsmen,  as  by  the  resistless  valor  of  the  Desert. 
The  Saracen  kingdoms  were  established.      That 


THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  SPAIN     211 

fair  and  unrivalled  civilization  arose,  which  pre- 
served for  Europe  arts  and  letters  when  Christen- 
dom was  plunged  in  darkness.  The  children  of 
Ishmael  rewarded  the  children  of  Israel  with  equal 
rights  and  privileges  with  themselves.  During 
these  halcyon  centuries,  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
the  follower  of  Moses  from  the  votary  of  Mahomet. 
Both  alike  built  palaces,  gardens,  and  fountains; 
filled  equally  the  highest  offices  of  the  state,  com- 
peted in  an  extensive  and  enlightened  commerce, 
and  rivalled  each  other  in  renowned  universities. 

Even  after  the  fall  of  the  principal  Moorish 
kingdoms,  the  Jews  of  Spain  were  still  treated  by 
the  conquering  Goths  with  tenderness  and  consid- 
eration. Their  numbers,  their  vvealth,  the  fact  that 
in  Aragon  especially,  they  were  the  proprietors  of 
the  soil,  and  surrounded  by  warlike  and  devoted 
followers,  secured  for  them  an  usage  which,  for  a 
considerable  period,  made  them  little  sensible  of 
the  change  of  dynasties  and  religions.  But  the 
tempest  gradually  gathered.  As  the  Goths  grew 
stronger,  persecution  became  more  bold.  Where 
the  Jewish  population  was  scanty,  they  were  de- 
prived of  their  privileges,  or  obliged  to  conform 
under  the  title  of  "  Nuevos  Christianos."  At 
length  the  union  of  the  two  crowns  under  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  and  the  fall  of  the  last  Moorish 
kingdom,  brought  the  crisis  of  their  fate  both  to 
the  New  Christian  and  the  non-conforming  He- 
brew. The  Inquisition  appeared — the  institution 
that  had  exterminated  the  Albigenses  and  had 
desolated   Languedoc,  and  which  it  should  ever  be 


212     THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  SPAIN 

remembered  was  established  in  the  Spanish  king- 
doms against  the  protests  of  the  Cortes  and  amid 
the  terror  of  the  populace.  The  Dominicans 
opened  their  first  tribunal  at  Seville,  and  it  is  curi- 
ous that  the  first  individuals  they  summoned  be- 
fore them  were  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  the 
Marquess  of  Cadiz,  and  the  Count  of  Arcos;  three 
of  the  most  considerable  personages  in  Spain. 
How  many  were  burned  alive  at  Seville  during  the 
first  year,  how  many  imprisoned  for  life,  what 
countless  thousands  were  visited  with  severe 
though  lighter  punishments,  need  not  be  recorded 
here.  In  nothing  was  the  Holy  Office  more  happy 
than  in  multiform  and  subtle  means  by  which  they 
tested  the  sincerity  of  the  New  Christians. 

At  length  the  Inquisition  was  extended  to  Ara- 
gon.  The  high-spirited  nobles  of  that  kingdom 
knew  that  its  institution  was  for  them  a  matter  of 
life  or  death.  The  Cortes  of  Aragon  appealed  to 
the  King  and  to  the  Pope  ;  they  organized  an  ex- 
tensive conspiracy  ;  the  chief  Inquisitor  was  assas- 
sinated in  the  cathedral  of  Saragossa.  Alas !  it 
was  fated  that  in  this,  one  of  the  many  and  con- 
tinual, and  continuing  struggles  between  the  rival 
organizations  of  the  North  and  the  South,  the 
children  of  the  sun  should  fall.  The  fagot  and  the 
San  Benito  were  the  doom  of  the  nobles  of  Ara- 
gon. Those  who  were  convicted  of  secret  Juda- 
ism, and  this  scarcely  three  centuries  ago,  were 
dragged  to  the  stake ;  the  sons  of  the  noblest 
houses,  in  whose  veins  the  Hebrew  taint  could  be 
traced,  had  to  walk  in  solemn  procession,  singing 


THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS  FROM  SPAIN     213 

psalms,  and   confessing   their  faith   in  the  religion 
of  the  fell  Torquemada. 

This  triumph  in  Aragon,  the  almost  simulta- 
neous fall  of  the  last  Moorish  kingdom,  raised  the 
hopes  of  the  pure  Christians  to  the  highest  pitch. 
Having  purged  the  new  Christians,  they  next 
turned  their  attention  to  the  old  Hebrews.  Ferdi- 
nand was  resolved  that  the  delicious  air  of  Spain 
should  be  breathed  no  longer  by  any  one  who  did 
not  profess  the  Catholic  faith.  Baptism  or  exile 
was  the  alternative.  More  than  six  hundred  thou- 
sand individuals  (some  authorities  greatly  increase 
the  amount),  the  most  industrious,  the  most  in- 
telligent, and  the  most  enlightened  of  Spanish 
subjects,  would  not  desert  the  religion  of  their 
fathers.  For  this  they  gave  up  the  delightful 
land  wherein  they  had  lived  for  centuries,  the 
beautiful  cities  they  had  raised,  the  universities 
from  which  Christendom  drew  for  ages  its  most 
precious  lore,  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors,  the 
temples  where  they  had  worshipped  the  God  for 
whom  they  made  this  sacrifice.  They  had  but 
four  months  to  prepare  for  eternal  exile,  after  a 
residence  of  as  many  centuries ;  during  which 
brief  period  forced  sales  and  glutted  markets  vir- 
tually confiscated  their  property.  It  is  a  calamity 
that  the  scattered  nation  still  ranks  with  the  deso- 
lations of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  of  Titus.  Who 
after  this  should  say  the  Jews  are  by  nature  a  sor- 
did people  ?  But  the  Spanish  Goth,  then  so  cruel 
and  so  haughty,  where  is  he  ?  A  despised  suppli- 
ant to  the  very  race  which  he  banished,  for  some 


214     DISPERSION  AND  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS 

miserable  portion  of  the  treasure  which  their  hab- 
its of  industry  have  again  accumulated.  Where 
is  that  tribunal  that  summoned  Medina  Sidonia 
and  Cadiz  to  its  dark  inquisition  ?  Where  is  Spain  ? 
Its  fall,  its  unparalleled  and  its  irremediable  fall, 
is  mainly  to  be  attributed  to  the  expulsion  of  that 
large  portion  of  its  subjects,  the  most  industrious 
and  intelligent,  who  traced  their  origin  to  the  Mo- 
saic and  Mohammedan  Arabs. 

BENJAMIN   DISRAELI 


78 

OF  THE  PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  THE 
DISPERSION  AND  RESTORA- 
TION OF  THE  JEWS 

(From  Discourses  on  the  Evidence  of  Revealed  Religion) 

Moses,  who  so  expressly  foretold  the  dispersion 
of  the  Jews  among  the  most  distant  nations  of  the 
world,  says  Lev.  xxvi.  44,  45,  "And  yet  for  all  that, 
when  they  shall  be  in  the  land  of  their  enemies,  I 
will  not  cast  them  away,  neither  will  I  abhor  them, 
to  destroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break  my  covenant 
with  them  ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  their  God.  But  I  will, 
for  their  sakes,  remember  the  covenant  of  their 
ancestors,  whom  I  brought  forth  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  in  the  sight  of  the  Heathen,  that  I  might 
be  their  God.     I  am  the  Lord." 

Having  foretold  the  dispersion  of  the  Israelites 
into  the  most  distant  regions,  he  adds,  Deut.  iv. 


DISPERSION  AND  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS     215 

29-31,  "But  if  from  thence  thou  shalt  seek  the  Lord 
thy  God,  thou  shalt  find  him,  if  thou  seek  him  with 
all  thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul.  When  thou 
art  in  tribulation,  and  all  these  things  are  come 
upon  thee,  even  in  the  latter  days,  if  thou  turn  to 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  shalt  be  obedient  unto  his 
voice  (for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  a  merciful  God)  he 
will  not  forsake  thee,  nor  destroy  thee,  nor  forget 
the  covenant  of  thy  fathers,  which  he  sware  unto 

them." 

After  Moses  we  find  no  prophecy  relating  to 
this  subject  till  we  come  to  the  latter  times  of  the 
kings  of  Judah,  about  eight  hundred  years  before 
the  Christian  Era.  But  they  abound  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Joel,  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  Obadiah,  and  Daniel,  before  the  return 
from  Babylon,  and  in  those  of  Haggai,  Zechariah, 
and  Malachi,  after  it.  To  quote  the  whole  of  what 
these  prophets  say  on  this  subject,  would  be  to 
copy  a  great  part,  if  not  the  greater  part,  of  their 
prophecies.  For  the  future  flourishing  state  of 
their  nation  is  the  great  and  favorite  theme  of  all 
their  writings.  But  as  the  subject  is  of  particular 
importance,  and  appears  to  me  not  to  have  been 
sufficiently  attended  to,  or  understood,  by  Chris- 
tians, who  have  supposed  many  of  the  prophecies 
to  have  been  figurative,  and  to  have  been  designed 
to  express  the  state  of  the  Christian  Church,  and 
not  that  of  the  Jewish  nation,  I  shall  recite  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  passages,  to  satisfy  you 
they  do  not  admit  of  any  such  figurative  interpre- 
tation. 


2l6     DISPERSION  AND  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS 

You  will  observe,  as  I  recite  them,  that  the 
prophecies  concerning  the  restoration  of  the 
Israelites  to  the  land  of  Palestine  are  generally 
accompanied  with  predictions  of  the  glorious  state 
of  this  extraordinary,  though  now  despised  and 
abject,  nation,  after  their  return,  and  also  concern- 
ing the  heavy  judgments  which  will  fall  upon  all 
the  nations  that  have  oppressed  them,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  shall  oppose  their  return,  or 
endeavor  to  disturb  them  after  it.  You  will  clearly 
see,  from  the  express  mention  that  is  made  of  the 
quiet  and  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  their  country, 
which  is  promised  to  the  Israelites,  that  these  proph- 
ecies were  by  no  means  fulfilled  at  the  return 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

The  predictions  concerning  the  return  of  the 
ten  tribes  is  a  farther  evidence  of  the  same  thing ; 
besides  that,  after  their  restoration,  all  the  twelve 
tribes  are  to  make  but  one  nation,  and  are  to  be 
governed  by  a  prince  of  the  house  of  David. 
Then  also  will  be  a  time  of  universal  peace  and 
happiness  through  all  the  world,  all  mankind  be- 
coming worshippers  of  the  one  true  God,  and  hav- 
ing the  highest  respect  for  his  peculiar  people,  if 
not  under  some  kind  of  subjection  to  them.  I 
shall  recite  the  passages  according  to  the  order  of 
the  time  in  which  they  were  delivered,  and  with- 
out intermixing  many  particular  observations  by 
way  of  illustrations  ;  for  it  will  be  seen  that  they 
require  none.1 

1  The  passages  referred  to,  and  omitted  here,  are  Amos  ix. 
14,  15  ;  Hosca  iii.  4,  5  ;   Isa.  ii.  2-4  ;  xi.  10-13  >  xm>-  5>  6 ;  xlix. 


DISPERSION  AND  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS      21 J 

With  what  feelings  must  pious  Jews,  in  their 
present  dispersed  and  oppressed  state,  meditate  on 
such  predictions  as  these  that  I  have  now  read  to 
you  ;  and  these,  I  may  truly  say,  are  not  perhaps 
an  hundredth  part  of  what  their  prophets  have 
delivered  to  them  on  this  subject ;  for  it  is  the 
great  burden  of  all  their  writings.  How  must  they 
be  impressed  with  the  idea  of  their  nation  being 
the  chosen  people  of  God,  when  they  can  trace 
their  origin  (which  no  other  nation  is  able  to  do) 
from  the  first  of  the  human  race;  when  they  can 
review  all  the  wonderful  dispensations  of  Providence 
respecting  them  ;  when  they  now  find  themselves 
in  the  very  situation  that  Moses  predicted  more 
than  three  thousand  years  ago,  and  therefore  can 
not  entertain  a  doubt  concerning  the  state  of  high 
pre-eminence  over  all  other  nations,  which  is  with 
no  less  clearness  promised  to  them  in  future  time! 
Can  we  wonder  at  the  firmness  of  the  faith  of  the 
Jews,  and  at  their  adherence  to  their  religion,  when 
they  are  continually  reading  such  prophecies  as 
I  have  read  to  you  ?  Can  we  wonder  even  at  their 
pride,  and  undue  contempt  of  all  other  nations  ? 
Who  would  not  be  proud  of  so  illustrious  a  descent, 
and  so  glorious  a  destination  as  they  alone  can 
boast  of  ?  How  little  is  the  impression  that  the  con- 
tempt of  the  world  must  have  on  such  a  people  as 
this !    To  them  it  must  be  considered  as  the  inso- 

14-16,22-26;  liv.  5-8;  lx.  4,  8-16;  Zeph.  iii.  19,  20 ;  Jer.  xvi, 
14,  15;  xxx.  3,  10,  11  ;  Ezek.  xxviii.  25  ;  xxxvi.  24-28;  xxxvii. 
21,  22,  26-28;  Zech.  viii.  13-15,  20-23;  x''-  9'  IO  5  xlv-  M>  i^_i9j 
Mai.  iii.  1-4,  12. 


2l8      DISPERSION  AND  RESTORATION  OF  THE  JEWS 

lence  of  beggars  to  princes  in  disguise.  To  correct 
this  pride,  the  most  enlarged  views,  such  as  have 
not  yet  opened  to  them,  are  necessary,  viz.,  that 
their  God  is  as  much  the  God  and  the  Father  of  all 
the  human  race  as  he  is  theirs,  and  that  all  pre- 
eminence, under  his  government,  has  for  its  real 
object,  not  the  advantage  of  any  part,  though  seem- 
ingly the  most  favored,  but  of  the  whole  of  his 
family  ;  and  therefore,  though  the  Israelites  will  be 
eminently  distinguished  and  happy,  it  is  only  as  the 
means  of  blessing  all  the  race  of  mankind,  far  more 
numerous,  and  therefore,  in  the  eye  of  God,  far 
more  important  than  they. 


In  the  meantime,  considering  these  very  imper- 
fect views  of  things,  it  becomes  us  to  look  princi- 
pally to  our  own  sentiments  and  conduct,  and  to  be 
careful  to  suppress  within  ourselves  every  affection 
or  sentiment  that  can,  directly  or  indirectly,  lead  to 
persecution,  whether  of  Jews  or  Christians,  and  to 
endeavor,  as  far  as  we  can,  to  assist  our  persecuted 
brethren,  lightening  the  burdens  that  are  imposed 
by  others. 

JOSEPH    PRIESTLEY 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF   THE   JEWS  219 


79 
CIVIL  DISABILITIES  OF  THE  JEWS 

(Extract  from  Speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  April  5,  1830,  on  the 
"Bill  to  Repeal  the  Civil  Disabilities  affecting  British-born 

Subjects  professing  the  Jewish  Religion  ") 

In  spite  of  the  parallel  which  my  honorable 
friend  (the  member  for  Oxford)  has  attempted — I 
think  in  vain — to  draw  between  this  case  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  measure  before  the  House  during 
the  last  Session  of  Parliament,  I  trust  that  we  shall 
not  have  to  forego  the  votes  of  many  of  those  honor- 
able gentlemen  who  in  the  last  session  were  opposed 

to  the  concession  of  the  Catholic  claims 

The  general  principle  of  religious  toleration  was 
involved  in  the  question  of  last  year,  as  it  is  now : 
but  most  of  those  gentlemen  who  voted  against 
the  Roman  Catholics  declared  in  favor  of  this  gen- 
eral principle,  only  they  found  that  there  were 
special  circumstances  which  took  the  case  of  the 
Roman  Catholics  out  of  the  pale  of  that  principle. 
But,  Sir,  there  are  no  such  circumstances  here.  In 
this  instance,  there  is  no  foreign  power  to  be  feared. 
There  is  no  divided  allegiance  threatening  the 
State — there  are  no  bulls — there  are  no  indigen- 
cies— there  are  no  dispensations — there  is  no  priest- 
hood exercising  an  absolute  authority  over  the  con- 
sciences of  those  who  are  under  their  spiritual 
control — there  are  no  agitators  rousing  and  excit- 
ing the  people  to  a  course  contrary  to  all  good 
government — there  are  no  associations  assembling, 


220  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF   THE   JEWS 

or  charged  with  assembling,  for  the  purpose  of 
assuming  a  power  which  ought  only  to  belong  to 
legally  recognized  functionaries — there  are  no 
mobs,  disciplined  to  their  task,  and  almost  in  the 
regular  training  of  arms — there  is  no  rent  levied 
with  the  regularity  of  a  tax.  It  was  the  fashion 
last  year  to  declaim  about  a  government  that  yielded 
to  clamor,  opposition,  or  threats,  having  betrayed 
the  sacredness  of  its  office,  but  there  can  be  none 
such  here ;  for  even  those  most  opposed  to  the 
present  measure  cannot  deny  that  the  Jews  have 
borne  their  deprivations  long  in  silence,  and  are 
now  complaining  with  mildness  and  decency.  .  . 
The  sect  with  which  we  now  have  to  deal  are  even 
more  prone  to  monopolize  their  religion  than  the 
others  are  to  propagating  the  Catholic  faith.  Never 
has  such  a  thing  been  heard  of  as  an  attempt  on 
the  part  of  the  Jews  to  gain  proselytes  ;  and  we 
may  conclude,  that  with  such  rites  and  forms  as 
belong  to  their  faith,  it  could  scarcely  be  expected 
by  anyone  that  a  scheme  of  proselytism  could  suc- 
ceed with  them.  Be  that,  however,  as  it  may,  it  is 
a  thing  at  which  they  never  appear  to  have  aimed. 
On  the  contrary,  they  have  always  discouraged 
such  an  idea.  Let  the  history  of  England  be 
examined,  and  it  will  furnish  topics  enough  against 
the  Catholics.  Those  who  have  looked  for  such 
things  have  always  found  enough  to  talk  about  as 
to  the  crimes  they  have  committed :  the  fires  in 
Smithfield — the  Gunpowder  Plot — the  Seven  Bish- 
ops— have  always  afforded  copious  matter  upon 
which    to   launch    out    in    invective    against    the 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS  221 

Catholics.  But  with  respect  to  the  Jews,  the  his- 
tory of  England  affords  events  exactly  opposite; 
its  pages,  as  to  these  people,  are  made  up  of  wrongs 
suffered  and  injuries  endured  by  them,  without  a 
trace  of  any  wrong  or  injury  committed  in  return  ; 
they  are  made  up,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end, 
of  atrocious  cruelties  inflicted  on  the  one  hand,  and 
grievous  privations  endured  for  conscience  sake  on 
the  other.  ...  If  this  Bill,  like  the  Roman 
Catholic  one  of  last  session,  is  to  be  opposed,  it  is 
condemning  the  strong  and  the  weak,  the  violent 
and  the  patient,  the  proselyting  and  the  exclusive, 
the  political  and  the  religious.  If  this  is  the  course 
that  is  to  be  taken  for  our  guide,  persecution  will 
never  want  an  excuse,  and  the  wolf  will  ever  be 
able  to  invent  a  pretence  to  bear  down  and  destroy 
the  lamb.  If  this  is  to  be  the  maxim  set  up  for 
our  landmark,  it  will  soon  appear  that  everything 
may  be  a  reason  with  the  aggressor,  as  everything 
is  shown  to  be  a  crime  in  the  aggressed.  In  all  the 
opposition  that  was  lately  evinced  against  the 
Catholics,  it  was  never  once  assumed  or  pretended 
that  the  opposition  was  religious ;  it  was  political 
and  nothing  else.  .  .  .  But  now  the  whole  case 
is  changed.  Political  objection  is  fairly  given  up; 
and  in  its  place  religious  persecution  is  avowed. 

All  that  the  House  has  been  told  is,  that  the 
Jews  are  not  Christians,  and  that  therefore  they 
must  not  have  power.  But  this  has  not  been  de- 
clared openly  and  ingenuously,  as  it  once  was. 
Formerly  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  was  at  least 


222  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 

consistent.  The  thing  was  made  complete  once 
by  taking  away  their  property,  their  liberty,  and 
their  lives.  My  honorable  friend  is  now  equally 
vehement  about  taking  away  their  political  power; 
and  yet,  no  doubt,  he  would  shudder  at  what  such 
a  measure  would  really  take  away.  .  .  .  If  it 
was  to  be  full  and  entire  persecution,  after  the  con- 
sistent example  of  our  ancestors,  I  could  under- 
stand it.  If  we  were  called  on  to  revert  to  the 
days,  when,  as  a  people,  they  were  pillaged — when 
their  warehouses  were  torn  down — when  their  every 
right  was  sacrificed,  the  thing  would  be  compre- 
hensible. But  this  is  a  delicate  persecution,  with 
no  abstract  rule  for  its  guidance.  As  to  the  matter 
of  right,  if  the  word  "legal"  is  to  be  attached  to 
it,  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge  that  the  Jews  have 
no  legal  right  to  power ;  but  in  the  same  way,  300 
years  ago,  they  had  no  legal  right  to  be  in  England  ; 
and  600  years  ago  they  had  no  legal  right  to  the 
teeth  in  their  heads  :  but  if  it  is  the  moral  riedit 
we  are  to  look  at,  I  say,  that  on  every  principle  of 
moral  obligation,  I  hold  that  the  Jew  has  a  right  to 
political  power.  Every  man  has  a  right  to  all  that 
may  conduce  to  his  pleasure,  if  it  does  not  inflict 
pain  on  any  one  else.  This  is  one  of  the  broadest 
maxims  of  human  nature,  and  I  cannot  therefore 
see  how  its  supporters  can  be  fairly  called  upon  to 
defend  it — the  onus probandi  lies,  not  on  the  advo- 
cates of  freedom,  but  on  the  advocates  of  restraint. 
Let  my  honorable  friend  first  show  that  there  is  some 
danger — some  injury  to  the  State,  likely  to  arise 
from  the  admission  of  the  Jews,  and  then  will  be 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS  22} 

the  time  to  call  upon  us  to  answer  the  case  that  he 
has  made  out.  Till  such  an  argument,  however,  is 
fully  made  out,  I  shall  contend  for  the  moral  right 
of  the  Jews.  That  they  wish  to  have  access  to  the 
privilege  of  sitting  in  Parliament  has  already  been 
shown  ;  it  now  remains  to  show  that  some  harm  is 
calculated  to  result  from  that  admission.  Unless 
this  is  shown,  the  refusal  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  persecution.  My  honorable  friend  put  a  differ- 
ent interpretation  upon  the  particular  word  I  have 
used  ;  but  the  meaning  will  still  remain  the  same  ; 
and  when  we  come  to  define  the  sense,  it  must  be 
found,  that  we  are  only  quibbling  about  a  word. 
Any  person  may  build  a  theory  upon  phrases : 
with  some,  perhaps,  burning  would  be  persecution, 
while  the  screwing  of  thumbs  would  not  be  perse- 
cution ;  others  may  call  the  screwing  of  thumbs 
persecution,  and  deny  the  justice  of  that  expression 
when  used  to  whipping.  But  according  to  my  im- 
pression, the  infliction  of  any  penalties  on  account 
of  religious  opinions,  and  on  account  of  religious 
opinions  alone,  is  generally  understood  as  com- 
ing within  the  meaning  of  the  term,  for  all 
the  purposes  of  political  argument.  It  is  as  much 
persecution  in  principle  as  an  auto-da-fe,  the  only 
difference  is  in  degree.  Defining  persecution, 
then,  as  I  do,  I  cannot  conceive  any  argument  to 
be  adduced  in  favor  of  the  mildest  degree  of  this 
injustice,  which,  logically  speaking,  though  not 
morally,  indeed,  might  not  be  used  with  equal  force 
in  favor  of  the  most  cruel  inflictions  from  similar 
motives.     I  have  to  make  my  apology  for  having  oc- 


224  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 

cupiecl  so  much  of  the  time  of  the  honorable  gentle- 
men present  ;  but  I  could  not  refrain  from  making 
known  my  sentiments  to  this  House  of  Commons, 
which  has  done  more  for  the  rights  of  conscience 
than  any  Parliament  that  ever  sat.  Its  sessions  of 
1828  and  1829  have  been  marked  by  a  glorious 
course  in  favor  of  religious  liberty  ;  and  I  hope 
that,  before  our  separation,  this  Session  of  1830 
will  put  the  finishing  hand  to  that  work  which  so 
many  great  and  good  men  wish  to  see  accomplished, 
but  which  cannot  be,  till  this  most  desirable  meas- 
ure shall  be  carried  into  effect. 

T.    B.    MACAULAY 

80 

CIVIL  DISABILITIES  OF  THE  JEWS 

(Extract) 

The  distinguished  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons  who,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  Parlia- 
ment, brought  forward  a  proposition  for  the  relief 
of  the  Jews,  has  given  notice  of  his  intention  to 
renew  it.  The  force  of  reason  in  the  last  session 
carried  the  measure  through  one  stage,  in  spite  of 
the  opposition  of  power.  Reason  and  power  are 
now  on  the  same  side  ;  and  we  have  little  doubt 
that  they  will  conjointly  achieve  a  decisive  victory. 
In  order  to  contribute  our  share  to  the  success  of 
just  principles,  we  propose  to  pass  in  review,  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  some  of  the  arguments,  or 
phrases  claiming  to  be  arguments,  which  have  been 
employed  to  vindicate  a  system  full  of  absurdity 
and  injustice. 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE    JEWS  225 

The  Constitution,  it  is  said,  is  essentially  Chris- 
tian ;  and,  therefore,  to  admit  Jews  to  office  is  to 
destroy  the  Constitution.  Nor  is  the  Jew  injured 
by  being  excluded  from  political  power.  For  no 
man  has  any  right  to  power.  A  man  has  a  right 
to  his  property  ;  a  man  has  a  right  to  be  protected 
from  personal  injury.  These  rights  the  law  allows 
to  the  Jew ;  and  with  these  rights  it  would  be 
atrocious  to  interfere.  But  it  is  a  mere  matter  of 
favor  to  admit  any  man  to  political  power ;  and  no 
man  can  justly  complain  that  he  is  shut  out  from  it. 

We  cannot  but  admire  the  ingenuity  of  this  con- 
trivance for  shifting  the  burden  of  the  proof  from 
those  to  whom  it  properly  belongs,  and  who  would, 
we  suspect,  find  it  rather  cumbersome.  Surely  no 
Christian  can  deny  that  every  human  being  has  a 
right  to  be  allowed  every  gratification  which  pro- 
duces no  harm  to  others,  and  to  be  spared  every 
mortification  which  produces  no  good  to  others. 
Is  it  not  a  source  of  mortification  to  a  class  of  men 
that  they  are  excluded  from  political  power  ?  If  it 
be,  they  have,  on  Christian  principles,  a  right  to 
be  freed  from  that  mortification,  unless  it  can  be 
shown  that  their  exclusion  is  necessary  for  the 
averting  of  some  greater  evil.  The  presumption 
is  evidently  in  favor  of  toleration.  It  is  for  the 
prosecutor  to  make  out  his  case. 

The  strange  argument  which  we  are  considering 
would  prove  too  much  even  for  those  who  advance 
it.  If  no  man  has  a  right  to  political  power,  then 
neither  Jew  nor  Gentile  has  such  a  right.  The 
whole  foundation  of   government  is  taken  away. 


226  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 

But  if  government  is  taken  away,  the  property 
and  the  persons  of  men  are  insecure  ;  and  it  is  ac- 
knowledged that  men  have  a  right  to  their  property 
and  to  personal  security 

If  there  is  any  class  of  people  who  are  not  in- 
terested, or  who  do  not  think  themselves  interested, 
in  the  security  of  property  and  the  maintenance 
of  order,  that  class  ought  to  have  no  share  of  the 
powers  which  exist  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
property  and  maintaining  order.  But  why  a  man 
should  be  less  fit  to  exercise  those  powers  because 
he  wears  a  beard,  because  he  does  not  eat  ham, 
because  he  goes  to  the  synagogue  on  Saturdays 
instead  of  going  to  the  church  on  Sundays,  we 
cannot  conceive. 

The  points  of  difference  between  Christianity 
and  Judaism  have  very  much  to  do  with  a  man's 
fitness  to  be  a  bishop  or  a  rabbi.  But  they  have 
no  more  to  do  with  his  fitness  to  be  a  magistrate, 
a  legislator,  or  a  minister  of  finance,  than  with  his 
fitness  to  be  a  cobbler.  Nobody  has  ever  thought 
of  compelling  cobblers  to  make  any  declaration  on 
the  true  faith  of  a  Christian.  Any  man  would 
rather  have  his  shoes  mended  by  a  heretical  cob- 
bler than  by  a  person  who  had  subscribed  to  all  the 
thirty-nine  articles,  but  had  never  handled  an  awl. 
Men  act  thus,  not  because  they  are  indifferent  to 
religion,  but  because  they  do  not  see  what  religion 
has  to  do  with  the  mending  of  their  shoes.  Yet 
religion  has  as  much  to  do  with  the  mending  of 
shoes  as  with  the  budget  and  the  army  estimates. 
We  have  surely  had  several  signal  proofs  within 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS  227 

the  last  twenty  years  that  a  very  good  Christian 
may  be  a  very  bad  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

But  it  would  be  monstrous,  say  the  persecutors, 
that  Jews  should  legislate  for  a  Christian  com- 
munity. This  is  a  palpable  misrepresentation. 
What  is  proposed  is,  not  that  the  Jews  should 
legislate  for  a  Christian  community,  but  that  a 
legislature  composed  of  Christians  and  Jews 
should  legislate  for  a  community  composed  of 
Christians  and  Jews 

That  a  Jew  should  be  a  judge  in  a  Christian 
country  would  be  most  shocking.  But  he  may  be 
a  juryman.  He  may  try  issues  of  fact  ;  and  no 
harm  is  done.  But  if  he  should  be  suffered  to  try 
issues  of  law,  there  is  an  end  of  the  Constitution. 
He  may  sit  in  a  box  plainly  dressed,  and  return 
verdicts.  But  that  he  should  sit  on  the  bench  in 
a  black  gown  and  white  wig,  and  grant  new  trials, 
would  be  an  abomination  not  to  be  thought  of 
among  baptized  people.  The  distinction  is  cer- 
tainly most  philosophical 

That  a  Jew  should  be  privy-councillor  to  a 
Christian  king  would  be  an  eternal  disgrace  to  the 
nation.  But  the  Jew  may  govern  the  money-mar- 
ket, and  the  money-market  may  govern  the  world. 
The  minister  may  be  in  doubt  as  to  his  scheme  of 
finance  till  he  has  been  closeted  with  the  Jew.  A 
congress  of  sovereigns  may  be  forced  to  summon 
the  Jew  to  their  assistance.  The  scrawl  of  the  Jew 
on  the  back  of  a  piece  of  paper  may  be  worth 
more  than  the  royal  word  of  three  kings,  or  the 
national  faith  of  three  new   American  republics. 


228  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS 

But  that  he  should  put  Right  Honorable  before  his 
name  would  be  the  most  frightful  of  national 
calamities 

The  English  Jews,  we  are  told,  are  not  English- 
men. They  are  a  separate  people,  living  locally  in 
this  island,  but  living  morally  and  politically  in 
communion  with  their  brethren  who  are  scattered 
over  all  the  world.  An  English  Jew  looks  on  a 
Dutch  or  a  Portuguese  Jew  as  his  countryman,  and 
on  an  English  Christian  as  a  stranger.  This  want 
of  patriotic  feeling,  it  is  said,  renders  a  Jew  unfit 
to  exercise  political  functions. 

This  argument  has  in  it  something  plausible  ;  but 
a  close  examination  shows  it  to  be  quite  unsound. 
Even  if  the  alleged  facts  are  admitted,  still  the 
Jews  are  not  the  only  people  who  have  preferred 
their  sect  to  their  country.  The  feeling  of  patriot- 
ism, when  society  is  in  a  healthy  state,  springs  up, 
by  a  natural  and  inevitable  association,  in  the 
minds  of  citizens  who  know  that  they  owe  all  their 
comforts  and  pleasures  to  the  bond  which  unites 
them  in  one  community.  But,  under  a  partial  and 
oppressive  government,  these  associations  can- 
not acquire  that  strength  which  they  have  in  a 
better  state  of  things.  Men  are  compelled  to  seek 
from  their  party  that  protection  which  they  ought 
to  receive  from  their  country,  and  they,  by  a 
natural  consequence,  transfer  to  their  party  that 
affection  which  they  would  otherwise  have  felt  for 
their  country.  The  Huguenots  of  France  called 
in  the  help  of  England  against  their  Catholic 
kings.     The  Catholics  of  France  called  in  the  help 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS  229 

of  Spain  against  a  Huguenot  king.  Would  it  be 
fair  to  infer,  that  at  present  the  French  Protestants 
would  wish  to  see  their  religion  made  dominant  by 
the  help  of  a  Prussian  or  English  army  ?  Surely 
not.  And  why  is  it  that  they  are  not  willing,  as 
they  formerly  were  willing,  to  sacrifice  the  interests 
of  their  country  to  the  interests  of  their  religious 
persuasion  ?  The  reason  is  obvious :  they  were 
persecuted  then,  and  are  not  persecuted  now.  The 
English  Puritans,  under  Charles  the  First,  prevailed 
on  the  Scotch  to  invade  England.  Do  the  Protest- 
ant Dissenters  of  our  time  wish  to  see  the  Church 
put  down  by  an  invasion  of  foreign  Calvinists  ? 
If  not,  to  what  cause  are  we  to  attribute  the 
change  ?  Surely  to  this,  that  the  Protestant  Dis- 
senters are  far  better  treated  now  than  in  the 
seventeenth  century. 

Some  of  the  most  illustrious  public  men  that 
England  ever  produced  were  inclined  to  take  refuge 
from  the  tyranny  of  Laud  in  North  America. 
Was  this  because  Presbyterians  and  Independents 
are  incapable  of  loving  their  country  ?  But  it  is 
idle  to  multiply  instances.  Nothing  is  so  offensive 
to  a  man  who  knows  anything  of  history  or  of 
human  nature  as  to  hear  those  who  exercise  the 
powers  of  government  accuse  any  sect  of  foreign 
attachments.  If  there  be  any  proposition  univers- 
ally true  in  politics  it  is  this,  that  foreign  attach- 
ments are  the  fruit  of  domestic  misrule. 

Rulers  must  not  thus  be  suffered  to  absolve 
themselves  of  their  solemn  responsibility.     It  does 


23O  CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF   THE   JEWS 

not  lie  in  their  mouths  to  say  that  a  sect  is  not 
patriotic.  It  is  their  business  to  make  it  patriotic. 
History  and  reason  clearly  indicate  the  means. 
The  English  Jews  are,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  pre- 
cisely what  our  government  has  made  them.  They 
are  precisely  what  any  sect,  what  any  class  of  men, 
treated  as  they  have  been  treated,  would  have  been. 
If  all  the  red-haired  people  in  Europe  had,  during 
centuries,  been  outraged  and  oppressed,  banished 
from  this  place,  imprisoned  in  that,  deprived  of 
their  money,  deprived  of  their  teeth,  convicted  of 
the  most  improbable  crimes  on  the  feeblest  evi- 
dence, dragged  at  horses'  tails,  hanged,  tortured, 
burned  alive,  if,  when  manners  became  milder,  they 
had  still  been  subject  to  debasing  restrictions  and 
exposed  to  vulgar  insults,  locked  up  in  particular 
streets  in  some  countries,  pelted  and  ducked  by  the 
rabble  in  others,  excluded  everywhere  from  magis- 
tracies and  honors,  what  would  be  the  patriotism 
of  gentlemen  with  red  hair  ?  And  if,  under  such 
circumstances,  a  proposition  were  made  for  admit- 
ting red-haired  men  to  office,  how  striking  a  speech 
might  an  eloquent  admirer  of  our  old  institutions 
deliver  against  so  revolutionary  a  measure  !  "  These 
men,"  he  might  say,  "scarcely  consider  themselves 
as  Englishmen.  They  think  a  red-haired  French- 
man or  a  red-haired  German  more  closely  connected 
with  them  than  a  man  with  brown  hair  born  in 
their  own  parish.  If  a  foreign  sovereign  patronizes 
red  hair,  they  love  him  better  than  their  own  native 
king.  They  are  not  Englishmen  ;  they  cannot  be 
Englishmen  ;   nature  has  forbidden  it,  experience 


CIVIL    DISABILITIES    OF    THE   JEWS  23 1 

proves  it  to  be  impossible.  Right  to  political 
power  they  have  none  ;  for  no  man  has  a  right  to 
political  power.  Let  them  enjoy  personal  security, 
let  their  property  be  under  the  protection  of  the 
law.  But  if  they  ask  for  leave  to  exercise  power 
over  a  community  of  which  they  are  only  half 
members — a  community  the  constitution  of  which 
is  essentially  dark-haired — let  us  answer  them  in 
the  words  of  our  wise  ancestors,  Nolumns  leges 
Anglicz  mutari." 

There  is  another  argument  which  we  would  not 
willingly  treat  with  levity,  and  which  yet  we 
scarcely  know  how  to  treat  seriously.  Scripture, 
it  is  said,  is  full  of  terrible  denunciations  against 
the  Jews.  It  is  foretold  that  they  are  to  be 
wanderers.  Is  it  then  right  to  give  them  a  home  ? 
It  is  foretold  that  they  are  to  be  oppressed.  Can 
we  with  propriety  suffer  them  to  be  rulers  ?  To 
admit  them  to  the  rights  of  citizens  is  manifestly 
to  insult  the  Divine  oracles. 

We  allow  that  to  falsify  a  prophecy  inspired  by 
Divine  Wisdom  would  be  a  most  atrocious  crime. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  happy  circumstance  for  our  frail 
species,  that  it  is  a  crime  which  no  man  can  possi- 
bly commit.  If  we  admit  the  Jews  to  seats  in 
Parliament,  we  shall,  by  so  doing,  prove  that  the 
prophecies  in  question,  whatever  they  may  mean, 
do  not  mean  that  the  Jews  shall  be  excluded  from 
Parliament. 

T.    B.    MACAULAY 


2$2  THE   CROWING    OF    THE    RED    COCK 

81 

THE  CROWING  OF  THE  RED  COCK 

(1SS1) 

Across  the  Eastern  sky  has  glowed 
The  nicker  of  a  blood-red  dawn, 

Once  more  the  clarion  cock  has  crowed, 
Once  more  the  sword  of  Christ  is  drawn. 

A  million  burning  rooftrees  light 

The  world-wide  path  of  Israel's  flight. 

Where  is  the  Hebrew's  fatherland  ? 

The  folk  of  Christ  is  sore  bestead; 
The  Son  of  Man  is  bruised  and  banned, 

Nor  finds  whereon  to  rest  his  head. 
His  cup  is  gall,  his  meat  is  tears, 
His  passion  lasts  a  thousand  years. 

Each  crime  that  wakes  in  man  the  beast, 

Is  visited  upon  his  kind. 
The  lust  of  mobs,  the  greed  of  priest, 

The  tyranny  of  kings,  combined 
To  root  his  seed  from  earth  again, 
His  record  is  one  cry  of  pain. 

When  the  long  roll  of  Christian  guilt 
Against  his  sires  and  kin  is  known, 

The  flood  of  tears,  the  life-blood  spilt, 
The  agony  of  ages  shown, 

What  oceans  can  the  stain  remove, 

From  Christian  law  and  Christian  love  ? 


THE    BANNER    OF    THE   JEW  233 

Nay,  close  the  book  ;  not  now,  not  here, 

The  hideous  talc  of  sin  narrate, 
Reechoing  in  the  martyr's  ear, 

Even  he  might  nurse  revengeful  hate, 
Even  he  might  turn  in  wrath  sublime, 
With  blood  for  blood  and  crime  for  crime. 

Coward  ?  Not  he,  who  faces  death, 
Who  singly  against  worlds  has  fought, 

For  what  ?  A  name  he  may  not  breathe, 
For  liberty  of  prayer  and  thought. 

The  angry  sword  he  will  not  whet, 

His  nobler  task  is — to  forget. 

EMMA    LAZARUS 
82 

THE  BANNER  OF  THE  JEW 

Wake,  Israel,  wake  !     Recall  to-day 

The  glorious  Maccabean  rage, 
The  sire  heroic,  hoary-gray, 

His  five-fold  lion-lineage  : 
The  Wise,  the  Elect,  the  Help-of-God, 
The  Burst-of-Spring,  the  Avenging-Rod.1 

From  Mizpeh's  mountain-ridge  they  saw 
Jerusalem's  empty  streets,  her  shrine 

Laid  waste  where  Greeks  profaned  the  Law, 
With  idol  and  with  pagan  sign. 

Mourners  in  tattered  black  were  there, 

With  ashes  sprinkled  on  their  hair. 

1  The  sons  of  Mattathias— Jonathan,  John,  Eleazar,  Simon 
(also  called  the  Jewel),  and  Judas,  the  Prince. 


234  THE    BANNER    OF    THE   JEW 

Then  from  the  stony  peak  there  rang 
A  blast  to  ope  the  graves  :  down  poured 

The  Maccabean  clan,  who  sang 
Their  battle-anthem  to  the  Lord. 

Five  heroes  lead,  and  following,  see, 

Ten  thousand  rush  to  victory. 

Oh  for  Jerusalem's  trumpet  now, 
To  blow  a  blast  of  shattering  power, 

To  wake  the  sleepers  high  and  low, 
And  rouse  them  to  the  urgent  hour ! 

No  hand  for  vengeance — but  to  save, 

A  million  naked  swords  should  wave. 

Oh  deem  not  dead  that  martial  fire, 
Say  not  the  mystic  flame  is  spent ! 

With  Moses'  Law  and  David's  lyre, 
Your  ancient  strength  remains  unbent. 

Let  but  an  Ezra  rise  anew, 

To  lift  the  Banner  of  the  Jezv  ! 

A  rag,  a  mock  at  first — ere  long, 

When  men  have  bled  and  women  wept, 

To  guard  its  precious  folds  from  wrong, 

Even  they  who  shrunk,  even  they  who  slept, 

Shall  leap  to  bless  it,  and  to  save. 

Strike  !  for  the  brave  revere  the  brave. 

EMMA    LAZARUS 


THE   LEGEND    OF    RABBI    BEN    LEVI  235 

83 

THE  LEGEND  OF  RABBI  BEN  LEVI 

(From  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn) 

Rabbi  Ben  Levi,  on  the  Sabbath,  read 

A  volume  of  the  Law,  in  which  it  said, 

"  No  man  shall  look  upon  my  face  and  live." 

And  as  he  read,  he  prayed  that  God  would  give 

His  faithful  servant  grace  with  mortal  eye 

To  look  upon  His  face  and  yet  not  die. 

Then  fell  a  sudden  shadow  on  the  page, 

And,  lifting  up  his  eyes,  grown  dim  with  age, 

He  saw  the  Angel  of  Death  before  him  stand, 

Holding  a  naked  sword  in  his  right  hand. 

Rabbi  Ben  Levi  was  a  righteous  man, 

Yet  through  his  veins  a  chill  of  terror  ran. 

With  trembling  voice  he  said,   "What  wilt  thou 

here  ?  " 
The  Angel  answered,  "  Lo  !  the  time  draws  near 
When  thou  must  die;  yet  first,  by  God's  decree, 
Whate'erthou  askest  shall  be  granted  thee." 
Replied  the  Rabbi,  "  Let  these  living  eyes 
First  look  upon  my  place  in  Paradise." 

Then  said  the  Angel,  "  Come  with  me  and  look." 

Rabbi  Ben  Levi  closed  the  sacred  book, 

And  rising,  and  uplifting  his  gray  head, 

"  Give  me  thy  sword,"  he  to  the  Angel  said, 

"  Lest  thou  shouldst  fall  upon  me  by  the  way." 

The  angel  smiled  and  hastened  to  obey, 


236      THE  LEGEND  OF  RABBI  BEN  LEVI 

Then  led  him  forth  to  the  Celestial  Town, 
And  set  him  on  the  wall,  whence,  gazing  down, 
Rabbi  Ben  Levi,  with  his  living  eyes, 
Might  look  upon  his  place  in  Paradise. 

Then  straight  into  the  city  of  the  Lord 

The  Rabbi  leaped  with  the  Death-Angel's  sword, 

And  through  the  streets  there    swept  a  sudden 

breath 
Of    something   there    unknown,    which    men    call 

death. 
Meanwhile  the  Angel  stayed  without,  and  cried, 
"  Come  back  !  "  To  which  the  Rabbi's  voice  replied, 
"  No !  in  the  name  of  God,  whom  I  adore, 
I  swear  that  hence  I  will  depart  no  more !  " 

Then  all  the  Angels  cried,  "  O  Holy  One, 
See  what  the  son  of  Levi  here  hath  done ! 
The  kingdom  of  Heaven  he  takes  by  violence, 
And  in  thy  name  refuses  to  go  hence  !  " 
The  Lord  replied,  "  My  Angels  be  not  wroth ; 
Did  e'er  the  son  of  Levi  break  his  oath  ? 
Let  him  remain ;  for  he  with  mortal  eye 
Shall  look  upon  my  face  and  yet  not  die." 

Beyond  the  outer  wall  the  Angel  of  Death 
Heard    the    great    voice,    and    said,  with   panting 

breath, 
"  Give  back  the  sword,  and  let  me  go  my  way." 
Whereat  the  Rabbi  paused,  and  answered,  "  Nay  ! 
Anguish  enough  already  hath  it  caused 
Among  the  sons  of  men."     And  while  he  paused 


SANDALPHON  237 

He  heard  the  awful  mandate  of  the  Lord 
Resounding    through    the    air,    "  Give    back    the 
sword  !  " 

The  Rabbi  bowed  his  head  in  silent  prayer  ; 
Then  said  he  to  the  dreadful  Angel,  "  Swear, 
No  human  eye  shall  look  on  it  again ; 
But  when  thou  takest  away  the  souls  of  men, 
Thyself  unseen,  and  with  an  unseen  sword, 
Thou  wilt  perform  the  bidding  of  the  Lord." 
The  Angel  took  the  sword  again,  and  swore, 
And  walks  on  earth  unseen  forevermore. 

II.    W.    LONGFELLOW 


84 

SANDALPHON 

Have  you  read  in  the  Talmud  of  old, 
In  the  Legends  the  Rabbins  have  told, 

Of  the  limitless  realms  of  the  air, 
Have  you  read  it, — the  marvellous  story 
Of  Sandalphon,  the  Angel  of  Glory, 

Sandalphon,  the  Angel  of  Prayer  ? 

How,  erect,  at  the  outermost  gates 
Of  the  City  Celestial  he  waits, 

With  his  feet  on  the  ladder  of  light, 
That,  crowded  with  angels  unnumbered, 
By  Jacob  was  seen,  as  he  slumbered 

Alone  in  the  desert  at  night  ? 


238  SANDALPHON 

The  Angels  of  Wind  and  of  Fire 
Chant  only  one  hymn,  and  expire 

With  the  song's  irresistible  stress  ; 
Expire  in  their  rapture  and  wonder, 
As  harp-strings  are  broken  asunder 

By  music  they  throb  to  express. 

But  serene  in  the  rapturous  throng, 
Unmoved  by  the  rush  of  the  song, 

WTith  eyes  unimpassioned  and  slow, 
Among  the  dead  angels,  the  deathless 
Sandalphon  stands  listening  breathless 

To  sounds  that  ascend  from  below; — 

From  the  spirits  on  earth  that  adore, 
From  the  souls  that  entreat  and  implore 

In  the  fervor  and  passion  of  prayer ; 
From  the  hearts  that  are  broken  with  losses, 
And  weary  with  dragging  the  crosses 

Too  heavy  for  mortals  to  bear. 

And  he  gathers  the  prayers  as  he  stands, 
And  they  change  into  flowers  in  his  hands, 

Into  garlands  of  purple  and  red ; 
And  beneath  the  great  arch  of  the  portal, 
Through  the  streets  of  the  City  Immortal 

Is  wafted  the  fragrance  they  shed. 

It  is  but  a  legend,  I  know, — 
A  fable,  a  phantom,  a  show, 

Of  the  ancient  Rabbinical  lore ; 
Yet  the  old  mediaeval  tradition, 
The  beautiful,  strange  superstition, 

But  haunts  me  and  holds  me  the  more. 


THE    RABBI'S    VISION  239 

When  I  look  from  my  window  at  night, 
And  the  welkin  above  is  all  white, 

All  throbbing  and  panting  with  stars, 
Among  them  majestic  is  standing 
Sandalphon  the  angel,  expanding 

His  pinions  in  nebulous  bars. 

And  the  legend,  I  feel,  is  a  part 

Of  the  hunger  and  thirst  of  the  heart, 

The  frenzy  and  fire  of  the  brain, 
That  grasps  at  the  fruitage  forbidden, 
The  golden  pomegranates  of  Eden, 

To  quiet  its  fever  and  pain. 

H.    W.    LONGFELLOW 

THE  RABBI'S  VISION 

Ben  Levi  sat  with  his  books  alone 

At  the  midnight's  solemn  chime, 
And  the  full-orb'd  moon  through  his  lattice  shone 

In  the  power  of  autumn's  prime  ; 
It  shone  on  the  darkly  learned  page, 
And  the  snowy  locks  of  the  lonely  Sage — 
But  he  sat  and  mark'd  not  its  silvery  light, 
For  his  thoughts  were  on  other  themes  that  night. 


it>' 


Wide  was  the  learn'd  Ben  Levi's  fame 
As  the  wanderings  of  his  race — 

And  many  a  seeker  of  wisdom  came 
To  his  lonely  dwelling-place  ; 

For  he  made  the  darkest  symbols  clear, 

Of  ancient  doctor  and  early  seer. 


24O  THE    RABBI  S    VISION 

Yet  a  question  ask'd  by  a  simple  maid 
He  met  that  eve  in  the  linden's  shade, 
Had  puzzled  his  matchless  wisdom  more 
Than  all  that  ever  it  found  before  ; 
And  this  it  was — "What  path  of  crime 
Is  darkliest  traced  on  the  map  of  time  ?  " 

The  Rabbi  ponder'd  the  question  o'er 

With  a  calm  and  thoughtful  mind, 
And  search'd  the  depths  of  the  Talmud's  lore- 

But  an  answer  he  could  not  find  ; — 
Yet  a  maiden's  question  might  not  foil 
A  Sage  inured  to  Wisdom's  toil — 
And  he  leant  on  his  hand  his  aged  brow, 
For  the  current  of  thought  ran  deeper  now  : 

When,  lo  !  by  his  side,  Ben  Levi  heard 

A  sound  of  rustling  leaves — 
But  not  like  those  of  the  forest  stirr'd 

By  the  breath  of  summer  eves, 
That  comes  through  the  dim  and  dewy  shades 
As  the  golden  glow  of  the  sunset  fades, 
Bringing  the  odors  of  hidden  flowers 
That  bloom  in  the  greenwood's  secret  bowers- 

But  the  leaves  of  a  luckless  volume  turn'd 

By  the  swift  impatient  hand 
Of  student  young,  or  of  critic  learn'd 

In  the  lore  of  the  Muse's  land. 
The  Rabbi  raised  his  wondering  eyes — 
Well  might  he  gaze  in  mute  surprise- 
For,  open'd  wide  to  the  moon's  cold  ray, 
A  ponderous  volume  before  him  lay  ! 


THE    RABBI'S    VISION  24I 

Old  were  the  characters,  and  black 
As  the  soil  when  sear'd  by  the  lightning's  track, 
But  broad  and  full  that  the  dimmest  sight 
Might  clearly  read  by  the  moon's  pale  light ; 
But,  oh  !  'twas  a  dark  and  fearful  theme 

That  fill'd  each  crowded  page — 
The  gather'd  records  of  human  crime 

From  every  race  and  age. 

All  the  blood  that  the  Earth  had  seen 
Since  Abel's  crimson'd  her  early  green  ; 
All  the  vice  that  had  poison'd  life 
Since  Lamech  wedded  his  second  wife  ; 
All  the  pride  that  had  mock'd  the  skies 

Since  they  built  old  Babel's  wall ; — 
But  the  page  of  the  broken  promises 

Was  the  saddest  page  of  all. 

It  seem'd  a  fearful  mirror  made 
For  friendship  ruin'd  and  love  betray'd, 
For  toil  that  had  lost  its  fruitless  pain, 
And  hope  that  had  spent  its  strength  in  vain  ; 
For  all  who  sorrow'd  o'er  broken  faith — 
Whate'er  their  fortunes  in  life  or  death — 
Were  there  in  one  ghastly  pageant  blent 
With  the  broken  reeds  on  which  they  leant. 

And  foul  was  many  a  noble  crest 

By  the  Nations  deem'd  unstain'd — 
And,  deep  on  brows  which  the  Church  had  bless'd, 

The  traitor's  brand  remain'd. 


242  THE    RABBI  S    VISION 

For  vows  in  that  blacken'd  page  had  place 

Which  Time  had  ne'er  reveal'd, 
And  many  a  faded  and  furrow'd  face 

By  death  and  dust  conceal'd — 
Eyes  that  had  worn  their  light  away 
In  weary  watching  from  day  to  day, 
And  tuneful  voices  which  Time  had  heard 
Grow  faint  with  the  sickness  of  hope  deferr'd. 

The  Rabbi  read  till  his  eye  grew  dim 

With  the  mist  of  gathering  tears, 
For  it  woke  in  his  soul  the  frozen  stream 
Which  had  slumber'd  there  for  years  ; 
And  he  turn'd,  to  clear  his  clouded  sight, 
From  that  blacken'd  page  to  the  sky  so  bright 
And  joy'd  that  the  folly,  crime,  and  care 
Of  Earth  could  not  cast  one  shadow  there. 

For  the  stars  had  still  the  same  bright  look 

That  in  Eden's  youth  they  wore  ; — 
And  he  turn'd  again  to  the  ponderous  book — 

But  the  book  he  found  no  more  ; 
Nothing  was  there  but  the  moon's  pale  beam— 
And  whence  that  volume  of  wonder  came, 
Or  how  it  pass'd  from  his  troubled  view, 
The  Sage  might  marvel,  but  never  knew ! 

Long  and  well  had  Ben  Levi  preach'd 

Against  the  sins  of  men — 
And  many  a  sinner  his  sermons  reach'd, 

By  the  power  of  page  and  pen  : 
Childhood's  folly,  and  manhood's  vice, 
And  age  with  its  boundless  avarice, 


THE    TWO    RABBINS  243 

All  were  rebuk'd,  and  little  ruth 
Had  he  for  the  venial  sins  of  youth. 

But  never  again  to  mortal  ears 

Did  the  Rabbi  preach  of  aught 
But  the  mystery  of  trust  and  tears 

By  that  wondrous  volume  taught. 
And  if  he  met  a  youth  and  maid 

Beneath  the  linden  boughs — 
Oh,  never  a  word  Ben  Levi  said, 

But — "Beware  of  Broken  Vows  !" 

FRANCES    BROWNE 


86 

THE  TWO  RABBINS 

The  Rabbin  Nathan  twoscore  years  and  ten 
Walked  blameless  through  the  evil  world,  and  then, 
Just  as  the  almond  blossomed  in  his  hair, 
Met  a  temptation  all  too  strong  to  bear, 
And  miserably  sinned.     So,  adding  not 
Falsehood  to  guilt,  he  left  his  seat,  and  taught 
No  more  among  the  elders,  but  went  out 
From  the  great  congregation  girt  about 
With  sackcloth,  and  with  ashes  on  his  head, 
Making  his  gray  locks  grayer.     Long  he  prayed, 
Smiting  his  breast ;  then,  as  the  Book  he  laid 
Open  before  him  for  the  Bath-Col's  choice, 
Pausing  to  hear  that  Daughter  of  a  Voice, 
Behold  the  royal  preacher's  words:  "A  friend 
Loveth  at  all  times,  yea,  unto  the  end ; 


244  THE   twO    RABBINS 

And  for  the  evil  day  thy  brother  lives." 
Marvelling,  he  said  :  "  It  is  the  Lord  who  gives 
Counsel  in  need.     At  Ecbatana  dwells 
Rabbi  Ben  Isaac,  who  all  men  excels 
In  righteousness  and  wisdom,  as  the  trees 
Of  Lebanon  the  small  weeds  that  the  bees 
Bow  with  their  weight.     I  will  arise,  and  lay 
My  sins  before  him." 

And  he  went  his  way 
Barefooted,  fasting  long,  with  many  prayers  ; 
But  even  as  one  who,  followed  unawares, 
Suddenly  in  the  darkness  feels  a  hand 
Thrill   with    its    touch    his    own,    and    his    cheek 

fanned 
By  odors  subtly  sweet,  and  whispers  near 
Of  words  he  loathes,  yet  cannot  choose  but  hear, 
So,  while  the  Rabbi  journeyed,  chanting  low 
The  wail  of  David's  penitential  woe, 
Before  him  still  the  old  temptation  came, 
And  mocked  him  with  the  motion  and  the  shame 
Of  such  desires  that,  shuddering,  he  abhorred 
Himself ;  and,  crying  mightily  to  the  Lord 
To  free  his  soul  and  cast  the  demon  out, 
Smote  with  his  staff  the  blackness  round  about. 

At  length,  in  the  low  light  of  a  spent  day, 

The  towers  of  Ecbatana  far  away 

Rose  on  the  desert's  rim  ;  and  Nathan,  faint 

And  footsore,  pausing  where  for  some  dead  saint 

The  faith  of  Islam  reared  a  domed  tomb, 

Saw  some  one  kneeling  in  the  shadow,  whom 


THE    TWO    RABBINS  245 

He  greeted  kindly:  "  May  the  Holy  One 
Answer  thy  prayers,  O  stranger  !  "  whereupon 
The  shape  stood  up  with  a  loud  cry,  and  then, 
Clasped  in  each  other's  arms,  the  two  gray  men 
Wept,  praising  Him  whose  gracious  providence 
Made  their  paths  one.     But    straightway,  as  the 

sense 
Of  his  transgression  smote  him,  Nathan  tore 
Himself  away :  "  O  friend  beloved,  no  more 
Worthy  am  I  to  touch  thee,  for  I  came, 
Foul  from  my  sins,  to  tell  thee  all  my  shame. 
Haply  thy  prayers,  since  naught  availeth  mine, 
May  purge  my  soul,  and  make  it  white  like  thine. 
Pity  me,  O  Ben  Isaac,  I  have  sinned  ! " 

Awestruck  Ben  Isaac  stood.     The  desert  wind 

Blew  his  long  mantle  backward,  laying  bare 

The  mournful  secret  of  his  shirt  of  hair. 

"  I  too,  O  friend,  if  not  in  act,"  he  said, 

"  In  thought  have  verily  sinned.     Hast  thou  not 

read, 
'  Better  the  eye  should  see  than  that  desire 
Should  wander  ? '     Burning  with  a  hidden  fire 
That  tears  and  prayers  quench  not,  I  come  to  thee 
For  pity  and  for  help,  as  thou  to  me. 
Pray  for  me,  O  my  friend  !  "  But  Nathan  cried, 
"Pray  thou  for  me,  Ben  Isaac  !  " 

Side  by  side 
In  the  low  sunshine  by  the  turban  stone 
They  knelt ;  each  made  his  brother's  woe  his  own, 
Forgetting,  in  the  agony  and  stress 
Of  pitying  love,  his  claim  of  selfishness ; 


246  A    LEGEND    OF    PARADISE 

Peace,  for  his  friend  besought,  his  own  became  ; 
His  prayers  were  answered  in  another's  name; 
And,  when  at  last  they  rose  up  to  embrace, 
Each  saw  God's  pardon  in  his  brother's  face ! 

Long  after,  when  his  headstone  gathered  moss, 
Traced  on  the  targum-marge  of  Onkelos 
In  Rabbi  Nathan's  hand  these  words  were  read: 
"  Hope  not  the  cure  of  sin  till  Self  is  dead ; 
Forget  it  in  love's  service,  a? id  the  debt 
Thou  canst  not  pay  the  angels  shall  forget ; 
Heaven  s  gate  is  shut  to  him  who  comes  alone  ; 
Save  thou  a  soul,  and  it  shall  save  thy  own." 

JOHN    GREENLEAF    WHITTIER 


87 

A  LEGEND  OF  PARADISE 

(From   The  Son  of  a  Star) 
I 

O  mighty  Cherubin,  with  flaming  sword 
Before  the  gate  !  Before,  before  the  gate  ! 

Touchless  with  human  hands, 

Sightless  with  human  eyes, 
Portal  of  sinful  mortal  fate, 

The  gate  of  Paradise  ! 
Oh  mighty  Cherubin,  speak  but  the  word ! 
That  I  may  see  the  garden  of  the  Lord 

And  grow  more  wise. 


A    LEGEND    OF    PARADISE  247 

Thus  spake  the  First  of  four  of  men  who  were 
The  living  pillars  of  the  deathless  race. 
Ezra  !  the  scholar  and  the  interpreter 
Of  the  great  book  of  life  which  time  shall  ne'er 
efface. 

Then  from  the  flaming  sword 
Came  forth  the  sacred  word, 
Enter  thou  faithful  one  ; 
Thy  work  hath  been  well  done, 
Enter  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

Beyond  the  sword  of  fire, 
Untouched  by  fire  or  sword, 
He  gains  his  soul's  desire, 
The  garden  of  the  Lord. 

That  he  may  grow  more  wise 

He  enters  Paradise. 

Enters  !  Beholds  !  and  Dies  ! 


II 

Oh  dreaded  Cherubin,  whose  flaming  sword 
Doth  hide  from  mortal  eyes  the  stream  of  life  ! 
The  tree  of  good  and  evil  and  its  fruit  ; 
The  place  where  God  breathed  into  man  his  breath  ; 
The  place  where  God  and  man  spake  word  to  word  ; 
Where  every  living  plant  and  herb  and  brute, 
Was  given  man ;  and  from  him  torn  the  wife 
Whom  the  foul  serpent  led  aside  to  death. 
Oh  dreaded  Cherubin  !  grant  my  desire 


248  A    LEGEND    OF    PARADISE 

Unquenchable  as  thy  consuming  fire, 

Which  guardeth  Paradise  ! 
That  I  may  see  the  garden  of  the  Lord 

And  grow  more  wise. 

Thus  spake  the  Second  one  who  reached  the  goal. 

Asaph  ;  a  mystic  form  who  shone, 

As  if  his  eager  soul 

Incarnate,  would  be  gone  ; 

Leaving  its  fleshly  dress 

In  this  world's  wilderness. 

Straight  from  the  lambent  flame  the  words  were 
said  ; 

If  that  thou  fearest  not  to  see 
What  made  a  brother  scholar  like  to  thee 

Fall  with  the  dead  ; 
Killed  by  the  glory  he  could  not  survive. 

Then,  true  and  faithful  one  ! 

Whose  work  hath  been  well  done, 
Enter  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  and  live. 

Beyond  the  sword  of  fire, 
Untouched  by  fire  or  sword, 
He  gains  his  soul's  desire, 
The  garden  of  the  Lord. 

That  he  may  grow  more  wise 

He  enters  Paradise. 

Enters  !  beholds  from  whence 

They  were  expell'd  who  did  at  first  transgress. 

Enters,  beholds  and  flies 

Back  to  the  wilderness, 

Bereft  of  every  sense  ! 


A    LEGEND    OF    PARADISE  249 

III 

Lo !  glorious  Cherubin  with  flaming  sword  ! 
Lo !  I  Elisha  Ben  Abuyah  stand — 
Stored  with  all  learning  gained  in  every  land — ■ 
Before  the  gate  whence  Eve  and  Adam  fled ; 
Asking  of  thee  that  I  may  freely  tread 

The  plains  of  Paradise. 
That  I  may  see  the  garden  of  the  Lord 

And  grow  more  wise. 

Thus  spake  the  Third  in  tones  of  majesty  ; 
Elisha  Ben  Abuyah,  who  would  pierce 
The  solid  earth,  the  sea,  the  eternal  space. 
Not  suppliant,  but  as  a  Deity, 
Asking  from  God  of  God  !  as  face  to  face 
A  ravenous  man,  feeling  his  hunger  fierce, 
Asks  men  to  feed  him  to  satiety. 

Again  the  voice  from  out  the  flaming  sword. 
Thou  son  of  subtlety  and  earthly  pride  ! 
Wherefore  within  thy  mantle's  flowing  folds 
Dost  thou  those  books  of  Baal  worship  hide  ? 
Our  God,  a  jealous  God,  forever  holds 
Him  lost  to  him  who  serveth  him  in  part, 
Giving  the  lip,  yet  keeping  back  the  heart. 

Elisha  Ben  Abuyah  stood  dismayed, 

But  gathering  up  his  strength  and  bending  low 

Thus  to  the  flaming  Cherubin  he  said  : 

These  treasured  books,  dear  as  my  own  heart's 

blood, 
I  burn  !  I  burn  !   I  burn  !  that  I  may  know 


2^0  A    LEGEND    OF    PARADISE 

The  greater  secret  that  before  me  lies, 

The  garden  of  the  Lord  saved  from  the  flood, 

The  golden  Paradise. 

The  flaming  fire  rose  up  and  filled  the  skies  : 

A  burning  sacrifice 
Of  all  Elisha  Ben  Abuyah  loved. 
It  is  enough,  the  Cherubin  replies, 
Thou  art  forgiven,  is  the  gracious  word. 
And,  every  barrier  to  thy  wish  removed, 

Enter  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

Beyond  the  sword  of  fire, 
Untouched  by  fire  or  sword, 
He  gains  his  soul's  desire, 
The  garden  of  the  Lord. 


t>^ 


That  he  may  grow  more  wise 

He  enters  Paradise. 

Boldly  he  looks  around, 

And  treads  the  holy  ground 

As  one  who  would  declare, 

I  am  the  son  and  heir 

Of  him  to  whom  these  treasures  all  belong. 

Rivers  of  life  combine, 

With  the  fruit  of  the  Tree  divine, 

To  nourish  with  marvels  my  tongue. 

Of  all  that  is  here,  as  mine, 

I  will  sing  !  I  will  write  !  I  will  tell ! 

From  the  gates  of  heaven  to  hell : 

In  parable,  legend  and  song. 


A    LEGEND    OK    PARADISE  25 1 

Filled  with  the  curse  of  pride 

Elisha  Ben  Abuyah  makes  his  way, 

Crushing  with  reckless  stride 

Whate'er  before  him  lav. 

Crushing  the  tender  plants  so  young  and  sweet, 

The  plants  of  Paradise,  beneath  his  feet. 

What  voice  is  that  he  hears, 

That  breaketh  him  with  fears  ? 

What  pang  is  that  he  feels? 

It  is  the  voice  of  God, 

The  angel's  flashing  rod. 

Oh  thou  who  kills  the  plants  of  Paradise 

That  thou,  vain  man,  may  grow  more  wise ! 

Fly  from  my  wrath  back  to  the  wilderness, 

And  seek  again  thine  everlasting  peace. 

A  lightning  glance  !  a  split  of  earth  !  a  grave  ! 

Outside  the  flaming  gate. 
Elisha  Ben  Abuyah,  who  shall  save 

Thee  from  thy  fate? 
In  flight  he  falls  into  that  open  grave, 
And  as  the  flint  upon  the  steel 
Strikes  into  fire,  so  he  upon  the  ground 
Bursts  into  lurid  flames,  which  he  can  feel 
Yet  never  can  extinguish.     Years  roll  round  ; 
Asres  of  sons  of  men  sink  down  and  die. 

Elisha  Ben  Abuyah  to  be  wise 
Killed  the  young  plants  of  Paradise. 
His  light  is  wisdom's  fool.     He  burns,  but  never 
dies. 


252  A    LEGEND    OF   PARADISE 


IV 

Oh  faithful  Cherubin,  whose  flaming  sword 

Doth  hide  the  garden  of  the  Holy  One  ! 

May  I,  a  shepherd  born  in  Israel's  fold, 

Ask  thee  to  ask  of  him  I  dare  not  name, 

Th'  Omnipotent !  World  without  end  the  same  ! 

That  I  the  last  of  those  who  stood  alone 

Interpreters  of  his  most  sacred  word, 

May  through  thy  glory  enter  Paradise, 

And  by  thy  radiant  wisdom  grow  more  wise  ? 

So  spake  the  last  of  those  who  stood  alone, 
The  matchless  scholars  of  the  deathless  race. 
Calm  dignity  from  off  his  image  shone, 
Sweet  modesty  was  written  on  his  face, 
With  courage  intermixed  and  gentle  grace, 
All  set  in  comeliness. 

With  cheerful  voice  the  guardian  spirit  spoke : 
Akiba  the  beloved,  thy  deeds  are  known. 
He  whom  thou  servest  through  thy  nights  and  days 
Hath  read  thy  heart  of  hearts  and  seen  thy  ways. 
Thou  art  to  him  a  plain  and  open  book, 
And  what  thou  askest  now  is  all  thine  own  ; 
Thine  own  for  knowledge,  wisdom,  precept,  word, 
Enter  thou  to  the  garden  of  the  Lord. 

Beyond  the  sword  of  fire, 
Untouched  by  fire  or  sword, 
He  gains  his  soul's  desire, 
The  garden  of  the  Lord  ! 


THE    DYING    HEBREW'S    PRAYER  253 

That  he  may  grow  more  wise 

Akiba  enters  Paradise. 

His  feet  retrace  each  round 

Of  the  enchanted  ground, 

Saved  only  of  all  gardens  from  the  flood. 

The  tree  of  knowledge  yields  him  living  food. 

Within  the  bower  where  Adam  slept  he  sleeps 

Fearing  no  evil:  knowing  well  that  He, 

Of  omnipresent  majesty ! 
The  Holy  One  of  Israel !  keeps 
His  steps  from  falling  and  his  sleep  from  fear, 
Life  of  his  life  :  unseen  yet  ever  near. 

That  he  might  grow  more  wise, 

Akiba  entered  Paradise, 

Entered  and  lived  and  learned. 

And  when  his  wondrous  task  was  done, 

Back  through  the  wilderness  returned 

To  teach  to  every  chosen  son 

Of  Israel  born,  the  sacred  mysteries. 

BENJAMIN    WARD    RICHARDSON 


88 

THE  DYING  HEBREW'S  PRAYER 

(From   The  Devtfs  Progress) 

A  Hebrew  knelt,  in  the  dying  light,— 
His  eye  was  dim  and  cold, 
The  hairs  on  his  brow  were  silver-white, 
And  his  blood  was  thin  and  old. 


254  THE  dying  Hebrew's  prayer 

He  lifted  his  look  to  his  latest  sun, 
For  he  knew  that  his  pilgrimage  was  done. 
And  as  he  saw  God's  shadow  there, 
His  spirit  poured  itself  in  prayer. 

"  I  come  unto  death's  second-birth, 

Beneath  a  stranger-air, 

A  pilgrim  on  a  dull,  cold  earth, 

As  all  my  fathers  were. 

And  men  have  stamped  me  with  a  curse, — 

I  feel  it  is  not  Thine, 

Thy  mercy — like  yon  sun — was  made 

On  me — as  them — to  shine  ; 

And,  therefore,  dare  I  lift  mine  eye, 

Through  that,  to  Thee, — before  I  die  ! 

"  In  this  great  temple,  built  by  Thee, 
Whose  altars  are  divine, 
Beneath  yon  lamp,  that  ceaselessly 
Lights  up  Thine  own  true  shrine, 

0  take  my  latest  sacrifice, — 
Look  down,  and  make  this  sod 
Holy  as  that  where,  long  ago, 
The  Hebrew  met  his  God  ! 

"I  have  not  caused  the  widow's  tears 
Nor  dimmed  the  orphan's  eye, 

1  have  not  stained  the  virgin's  years, 
Nor  mocked  the  mourner's  cry; 
The  songs  of  Zion,  in  mine  ear, 
Have  ever  been  most  sweet, 

And  always  when  I  felt  Thee  near, 
My  'shoes'  were  'off  my  feet.' 


THE    DYING    HEBREW'S    PRAYER  255 

"  I  have  known  Thee,  in  the  whirlwind, 

I  have  known  Thee,  on  the  hill, 

I  have  loved  Thee,  in  the  voice  of  birds, 

Or  the  music  of  the  rill. 

I  dreamt  Thee  in  the  shadow, 

I  saw  Thee  in  the  light, 

I  heard  Thee  in  the  thunder-peal, 

And  worshipped  in  the  night. 

All  beauty,  while  it  spoke  of  Thee, 

Still  made  my  soul  rejoice, 

And  my  spirit  bowed  within  itself, 

To  hear  Thy  '  still-small  voice.' 

I  have  not  felt  myself  a  thing 

Far  from  Thy  presence  driven, 

By  flaming  sword  or  waving  wing, 

Shut  out  from  Thee  and  heaven. 

"  Must  I  the  whirlwind  reap,  because 

My  fathers  sowed  the  storm, 

Or  shrink — because  another  sinned, — 

Beneath  Thy  red  right-arm  ? 

O,  much  of  this  we  dimly  scan, 

And  much  is  all  unknown, — 

But  I  will  not  take  my  curse  from  man, 

I  turn  to  Thee,  alone  ! 

O,  bid  my  fainting  spirit  live, 

And  what  is  dark  reveal, 

And  what  is  evil  O  forgive, 

And  what  is  broken  heal, 

And  cleanse  my  nature,  from  above, 

In  the  deep  Jordan  of  Thy  love ! 


256  THE    DYING    HEBREW'S    PRAYER 

"  I  know  not  if  the  Christian's  heaven 

Shall  be  the  same  as  mine, 

I  only  ask  to  be  forgiven, 

And  taken  home  to  Thine. 

I  weary  on  a  far,  dim  strand, 

Whose  mansions  are  as  tombs, 

And  long  to  find  the  fatherland 

Where  there  are  many  homes. 

O  grant,  of  all  yon  starry  thrones, 

Some  dim  and  distant  star, 

Where  Judah's  lost  and  scattered  sons 

May  love  Thee,  from  afar  ! 

When  all  earth's  myriad  harps  shall  meet, 

In  choral  praise  and  prayer, 

Shall  Zion's  harp — of  old,  so  sweet — 

Alone  be  wanting  there  ? 

Yet,  place  me  in  Thy  lowest  seat, 

Though  I — as  now — be  there 

The  Christian's  scorn,  the  Christian's  jest ; 

But  let  me  see  and  hear, 

From  some  dim  mansion,  in  the  sky, 

Thy  bright  ones,  and  their  melody !" 

The  sun  goes  down,  with  sudden  gleam, 

And — beautiful  as  a  lovely  dream, 

And  silently  as  air — 

The  vision  of  a  dark-eyed  girl, 

With  long  and  raven  hair, 

Glides  in — as  guardian  spirits  glide — 

And,  lo  !  is  kneeling  by  his  side  ; 

As  if  her  sudden  presence  there 

Were  sent,  in  answer  to  his  prayer ! 


THE    DYING   HEBREW'S    PRAYER  257 

(O,  say  they  not  that  angels  tread 

Around  the  good  man's  dying-bed  ?) 

His  child  ! — his  sweet  and  sinless  child! — 

And  as  he  gazed  on  her, 

He  knew  his  God  was  reconciled, 

And  this  the  messenger, — 

As  sure  as  God  had  hung,  on  high, 

The  promise-bow  before  his  eye  ! — 

Earth's  purest  hope  thus  o'er  him  flung, 

To  point  his  heavenward  faith, 

And  life's  most  holy  feeling  strung, 

To  sing  him  into  death  !— 

And,  on  his  daughter's  stainless  breast, 

The  dying  Hebrew  sought  his  rest  ! 

The  Devil  turned  uneasily  round, 

For  he  knew  that  the  place  was  holy  ground  ! 

But,  ere  he  passed,  he  saw  a  Turk 

Spit  on  the  bearded  Jew ; 

And  a  Christian  cursed  those  who  could  not  eat 

pork ; — 
Quoth    the    Devil,   "  These    worthies    may   do  my 

work ; 
For  one  lost,  here  are  two  ! 
Turk  or  Jew,  or  their  Christian  brother, 
I  seldom  lose  one,  but  I  gain  another !" 

THOMAS    KEBLE    HERVEY 


258  A   JEWISH    FAMILY 


89 

A  JEWISH  FAMILY 

Genius  of  Raphael !  if  thy  wings 

Might  bear  thee  to  this  glen, 
With  faithful  memory  left  of  things 

To  pencil  dear  and  pen, 
Thou  wouldst  forego  the  neighboring  Rhine, 

And  all  his  majesty — 
A  studious  forehead  to  incline 

O'er  this  poor  family. 

The  Mother — her  thou  must  have  seen, 

In  spirit,  ere  she  came 
To  dwell  these  rifted  rocks  between, 

Or  found  on  earth  a  name  ; 
An  image,  too,  of  that  sweet  Boy, 

Thy  inspirations  give — 
Of  playfulness,  and  love,  and  joy, 

Predestined  here  to  live. 

Downcast  or  shooting  glances  far, 

How  beautiful  his  eyes, 
That  blend  the  nature  of  the  star 

With  that  of  summer  skies  ! 
I  speak  as  if  of  sense  beguiled  ; 

Uncounted  months  have  gone, 
Yet  am  I  with  the  Jewish  Child, 

That  exquisite  Saint  John, 


THE    WEEK  259 

I  see  the  dark  brown  curls,  the  brow, 

The  smooth,  transparent  skin, 
Refined,  as  with  intent  to  show 

The  holiness  within ; 
The  grace  of  parting  Infancy 

By  blushes  yet  untamed  ; 
Age  faithful  to  the  mother's  knee, 

Nor  of  her  arms  ashamed. 

Two  lovely  sisters,  still  and  sweet 

As  flowers,  -stand  side  by  side; 
Their  soul-subduing  looks  might  cheat 

The  Christian  of  his  pride  : 
Such  beauty  hath  the  Eternal  poured 

Upon  them  not  forlorn, 
Though  of  a  lineage  once  abhorred, 

Nor  yet  redeemed  from  scorn. 

Mysterious  safeguard,  that,  in  spite 

Of  poverty  and  wrong, 
Doth  here  preserve  a  living  light, 

From  Hebrew  fountains  sprung  ; 
That  gives  this  ragged  group  to  cast 

Around  the  dell  a  gleam 
Of  Palestine,  of  glory  past, 

And  proud  Jerusalem. 

WJLLIAM    WORDSWORTH 


90 

THE  WEEK 

(From  Bible  Characters) 

The  period  of  time,  a  week,  and  its  universal 
existence,  is  a  monumental  proof  of  the  truth  of 


260  FRIDAY   NIGHT 

Moses.  Years,  months  and  days  are  derivable  from 
the  sun  and  moon  ;  but  the  week  is  an  unnatural 
division.  Yet  there  never  was  an  age  when  it  did 
not  prevail  in  India,  China,  Assyria,  Egypt,  and  it 
migrated  to  Greece  and  Rome.  The  world  is  large, 
and  full  of  conflicting  opinions.  How  many  solu- 
tions exist  of  this  arbitrary  division — seven  days ! 
There  is  only  one  known  to  creation  that  is  ade- 
quate, for  it  says  the  parents  of  all  mankind  were 
taught  it  by  their  Creator.  Now  try  any  other 
solution  and  it  will  be  found  inadequate,  and  evi- 
dently to  accept  an  inadequate  solution  of  an  un- 
deniable fact  is  credulity  in  one  of  its  weakest 
forms. 

CHARLES    READE 


91 

FRIDAY  NIGHT 

On  Sabbath  Eve — thus  have  the  sages  said — 
Man's  homeward  path,  with  him,  two  spirits  tread. 

The  one  a  holy  angel,  pure  and  bright, 
And  one,  a  demon  of  malignant  spite. 

Happy  the  dwelling,  where  the  day  of  rest 
Is  fitly  honored  as  a  welcome  guest : 

Where  Sabbath-lamp  doth  hallowed  radiance  shed 
Above  the  board,  with  festal  dainties  spread  : 

Where  grateful  hearts  have  sung  with  glad  acclaim 
Hymns  of  thanksgiving  to  God's  holy  name. 


FRIDAY    NIGHT  26l 

With  sacred  joy,  the  messenger  of  light, 
With  inward  raging,  the  malignant  sprite, 

Behold.     The  first  in  tones  serene  and  clear 
Echoes  the  rapture  of  the  ancient  seer  : 

"How  lovely  are  the  tents  of  Jacob's  race ; 
Israel,  how  beautiful  thy  dwelling  place  !  " 

"  Amen  !  "  the  other  with  ungracious  mien, 
Responds  ;  and  turns  to  fly  th'  unwelcome  scene  ; 

But  heareth,  even  though  he  hasten  flight, 
In  fervent  blessing  raised,  that  voice  of  light. 

"Be  every  Sabbath  blessed  as  this  !  "  Again, 
Despite  his  will,  the  demon  cries,  "  Amen  !  " 

But  woe  the  household,  that  the  holy  eve 
Finds  unprepared  its  presence  to  receive  : 

The  lamp  unlighted,  table  unadorned, 
With    work    unhallowed,    God's     sweet    Sabbath 
scorned  : 

-Where  no  glad    heart    hath    chanted    "Come,    O 

Bride!" 
— Ah,  woe,  that  thrice  unhappy  home  betide. 

Weeping,  the  radiant  angel  leaves  the  place 
Where  all  unwelcome  is  his  holy  face. 

The  Demon  of  Unrest,  with  joy  malign, 

Sees  him  depart ;  and  cries  "  This  house  is  mine  !  " 

"Be  Sabbath-joys  forever  here  unknown  !  " 
"  Amen  !  "  he  hears  the  angel's  farewell  moan. 


262  FRIDAY    NIGHT 

O,  blessed  Sabbath,  of  God's  gifts  the  best, 
O,  Royal  Bride  !  O,  lovely  Queen  of  Rest, 

Our  lamp  is  lighted,  and  its  sacred  flame 
Shines  to  thy  glory  and  thy  Monarch's  name. 

In  grateful  melody,  our  voice  we  raise 

To  sing  thy  beauty  and  thy  Maker's  praise. 

Would  all  God's  people  knew  thy  saving  grace, 
And  thou,  in  all  their  hearts,  held'st  honored  place. 

Would  all  God's  people,  in  the  blessings  rare 
Thy  loyal  ones  enjoy,  might  weekly  share! 

For  though  stern  Woe  rule  all  the  world  besides, 
Where  Sabbath  dwells,  there  happiness  abides  ! 

"Then    come,   who   art  thy  husband's    crown,    in 

peace ; 
Our  sorrows  lighten,  and  our  joys  increase." 

"Amid  the  faithful  whom  thy  love  hath  blessed, 
Come,  beauteous  Bride  !    Come,  gracious  Queen  of 
Rest !  " 

SOLOMON    SOLIS-COHEN 


THE    SABBATH  263 

92 

THE  SABBATH 

(From  The  Genius  of  Judaism} 

An  entire  cessation  from  all  the  affairs  of  life  on 
each  seventh  clay  is  a  Jewish  institution,  and  is  not 
prescribed  by  the  laws  of  any  other  people.    .     .    . 

So  inviolable  was  held  the  sanctity  of  this  day, 
that  its  uninterrupted  course  was  preferred  to  the 
preservation  of  life  itself,  of  which  history  has  re- 
corded some  instances  of  the  most  solemn  nature, 
and  some  whose  result  has  been  not  a  little 
ludicrous. 

To  the  ancient  Polythcists,  nothing  seemed  so 
joyless  as  the  austerity  of  a  Jewish  Sabbath.  It 
was  a  strange  abandonment  of  all  the  vocations 
of  life.  They  saw  the  fields  of  the  Hebrew  for- 
saken by  the  laborer ;  the  ass  unsaddled ;  the  oar 
laid  by  in  the  boat ;  they  marked  a  dead  stillness 
pervading  the  habitation  of  the  Israelite ;  the  fire 
extinguished,  the  meat  unprepared,  the  man  ser- 
vant and  the  maiden  leave  their  work,  and  the 
trafficker,  at  least  one  day  of  the  week,  refusing 
the  offered  coin.  When  the  Hebrews  had  armies 
of  their  own,  they  would  halt  in  the  midst  of  victory 
on  the  eve  of  the  Sabbath,  and  on  the  Sabbath  day 
ceased  even  to  defend  their  walls  from  the  incur- 
sions of  an  enemy. 

The   primitive    Christians  abhorred   the   obser- 


264  THE   SABBATH 

vances  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  which  they  con- 
sidered as  only  practised  by  the  contemners  of 
"the  Lord's  day."         .         .  '      . 

The  interior  delights  of  the  habitation  of  the 
Hebrew  were  alike  invisible  to  the  Polytheist  and 
the  Christian  fathers.  They  heard  not  the  domes- 
tic greetings  which  cheerfully  announced  "  the 
good  Sabbath,"  nor  the  paternal  benediction  for 
the  sons,  nor  the  blessing  of  the  master  for  his 
pupils.  They  could  not  behold  the  mistress  of  the 
house  watching  the  sunset,  and  then  lighting  the 
seven  wicks  of  the  lamps  of  the  Sabbath  sus- 
pended during  its  consecration  ;  for  oil  to  fill  the 
Sabbath-lamp,  the  mendicant  implored  an  alms. 
But  the  more  secret  illumination  of  the  law  on  the 
Sabbath,  as  the  Rabbins  expressed  it,  bestowed 
a  supernumerary  soul  on  every  Israelite.  The 
sanctity  felt  through  the  Jewish  abode  on  that  day, 
was  an  unfailing  renewal  of  the  religious  emotions 
of  this  pious  race.  Thus  in  the  busy  circle  of  life 
was  there  one  immovable  point  where  the  weary 
rested,  and  the  wealthy  enjoyed  a  heavenly  repose. 

It  is  beautiful  to  trace  the  expansion  of  an 
original  and  vast  idea  in  the  mind  of  a  rare 
character  who  seems  born  to  govern  the  human 
race.  Such  an  awful  and  severe  genius  was  the 
legislator  of  the  Hebrews.  The  Sabbatical  in- 
stitution he  boldly  extended  to  a  seventh  year, 
equally  as  he  had  appointed  a  seventh  day.  At 
that  periodical  return  the  earth  was  suffered  to  lie 
fallow  and  at  rest.     In  this  "Sabbath  of  the  land," 


SABBATH    IN    THE    JEWISH    CAMP  265 

the  Hebrews  were  not  permitted  to  plant,  to  sow, 
or  to  reap;  and  of  the  spontaneous  growth  no 
proprietor  at  those  seasons  was  allowed  to  gather 
more  than  sufficed  for  the  bare  maintenance  of  his 
household.  There  was  also  release  of  debtors. 
The  sublime  genius  of  Moses  looked  far  into 
futurity  when,  extending  this  great  moral  influence, 
he  planned  the  still  greater  Sabbatical  institution 
for  every  fifty  years.  Seven  Sabbaths  of  years  closed 
in  the  Jubilee,  or  the  great  year  of  release.  Then 
at  the  blowing  of  the  horn  in  the  synagogue  the 
poor  man  ceased  to  want  ;  the  slave  was  freed ;  all 
pledges  were  returned  ;  and  all  lands  reverted  to 
their  original  proprietors.  To  prevent  an  excessive 
accumulation  of  wealth,  the  increase  of  unlimited 
debts,  and  the  perpetuity  of  slavery,  this  creator 
of  a  political  institution  like  no  other,  decreed  that 
nothing  should  be  perpetual  but  the  religious  re- 
public itself. 

ISAAC    DISRAELI 

93 
SABBATH  IN  THE  JEWISH  CAMP 

(From  Ahoy) 

When  the  sun  set,  the  Sabbath  was  to  commence. 
The  undulating  horizon  rendered  it  difficult  to  as- 
certain the  precise  moment  of  his  fall.  The  crim- 
son orb  sunk  behind  the  purple  mountains,  the  sky 
was  flushed  with  a  rich  and  rosy  glow.  Then 
might  be  perceived  the  zealots,  proud  in  their  Tal- 
mudical  lore,  holding  a  skein  of  white  silk  in  their 


266  SABBATH    IN    THE    JEWISH    CAMP 

hands,  and  announcing  the  approach  of  the  Sab- 
bath by  their  observation  of  its  shifting  tints. 
While  the  skein  was  yet  golden,  the  forge  of  the 
armorer  still  sounded,  the  fire  of  the  cook  still  blazed, 
still  the  cavalry  led  their  steeds  to  the  river,  and 
still  the  busy  footmen  braced  up  their  tents,  and 
hammered  at  their  palisades.  The  skein  of  silk 
became  rosy,  the  armorer  worked  with  renewed 
energy,  the  cook  puffed  with  increased  zeal,  the 
horsemen  scampered  from  the  river,  the  footmen 
cast  an  anxious  glance  at  the  fading  twilight. 

The  skein  of  silk  became  blue ;  a  dim,  dull, 
sepulchral,  leaden  tinge  fell  over  its  purity.  The 
hum  of  gnats  arose,  the  bat  flew  in  circling  whirls 
over  the  tents,  horns  sounded  from  all  quarters,  the 
sun  had  set,  the  Sabbath  had  commenced.  The 
forge  was  mute,  the  fire  extinguished,  the  prance 
of  horses  and  the  bustle  of  men  in  a  moment 
ceased.  A  deep,  a  sudden,  an  all-pervading  still- 
ness dropped  over  that  mighty  host.  It  was  night ; 
the  sacred  lamp  of  the  Sabbath  sparkled  in  every 
tent  of  the  camp,  which  vied  in  silence  and  in 
brilliancy  with  the  mute  and  glowing  heavens. 

Morn  came  ;  the  warriors  assembled  around  the 
altar  and  the  sacrifice.  The  High  Priest  and  his 
attendant  Levites  proclaimed  the  unity  and  the 
omnipotence  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  the  sympa- 
thetic responses  of  his  conquering  and  chosen 
people  re-echoed  over  the  plain.  They  retired 
again  to  their  tents,  to  listen  to  the  expounding  of 
the  law  ;  even  the  distance  of  a  Sabbath  walk  was 
not  to  exceed  that  space  which  lies  between  Jeru- 


ODE   TO    ZION  267 

salem  and  the  Mount  of  Olives.  This  was  the  dis- 
tance between  the  temple  and  the  tabernacle,  it  had 
been  nicely  measured,  and  every  Hebrew  who  ven- 
tured forth  from  the  camp  this  day  might  be 
observed  counting  the  steps  of  a  Sabbath-day's 
journey.  At  length  the  sun  again  set,  and  on  a 
sudden  fires  blazed,  voices  sounded,  men  stirred, 
in  the  same  enchanted  and  instantaneous  manner 
that  had  characterized  the  stillness  of  the  preced- 
ing eve.  Shouts  of  laughter,  bursts  of  music, 
announced  the  festivity  of  the  coming  night ; 
supplies  poured  in  from  all  the  neighboring  villages, 
and  soon  the  pious  conquerors  commemorated  their 
late  triumph  in  a  round  of  banqueting. 

BENJAMIN    DISRAELI 


94 

ODE  TO  ZION 

Art  thou  not,  Zion,  fain 

To  send  forth  greetings  from  thy  sacred  rock 

Unto  thy  captive  train, 

Who  greet  thee  as  the  remnants  of  thy  flock  ? 

Take  thou  on  every  side — 

East,  west,  and  south,  and  north — their  greetings 

multiplied. 
Sadly  he  greets  thee  still, 
The  prisoner  of  hope,  who,  day  and  night, 
Shed  ceaseless  tears,  like  dew  on  Hermon's  hill — 
Would  that  they  fell  upon  thy  mountain's  height ! 


268  ODE   TO    ZION 

Harsh  is  my  voice  when  I  bewail  thy  woes, 
But  when  in  fancy's  dream 
I  see  thy  freedom,  forth  its  cadence  flows 
Sweet  as  the  harps  that  hung  by  Babel's  stream. 
My  heart  is  sore  distressed 
For  Bethel  ever  blessed, 
For  Peniel,  and  each  ancient,  sacred  place. 
The  holy  presence  there 
To  thee  is  present  where 

Thy  Maker  opes  thy  gates,  the  gates  of  heaven  to 
face. 

The  glory  of  the  Lord  will  ever  be 

Thy  sole  and  perfect  light ; 

No  need  hast  thou,  then,  to  illumine  thee, 

Of  sun  by  day,  and  moon  and  stars  by  night. 

I  would  that,  where  God's  Spirit  was  of  yore 

Poured  out  unto  thy  holy  ones,  I  might 

There  too  my  soul  outpour  ! 

The  house  of  kings  and  throne  of  God  wert  thou, 

How  comes  it  then  that  now 

Slaves  fill  the  throne  where  sat  thy  kings  before  ? 

O  !  who  will  lead  me  on 

To  seek  the  spots  where,  in  far-distant  years, 

The  angels  in  their  glory  dawned  upon 

Thy  messengers  and  seers  ? 

O  !  who  will  give  me  wings 

That  I  may  fly  away, 

And  there,  at  rest  from  all  my  wanderings, 

The  ruins  of  my  heart  among  thy  ruins  lay  ? 

I'll  bend  my  face  unto  thy  soil,  and  hold 

Thy  stones  as  precious  gold. 


ODE    TO    ZION  269 

And  when  in  Hebron  I  have  stood  beside 

My  fathers'  tombs,  then  will  I  pass  in  turn 

Thy  plains  and  forest  wide, 

Until  I  stand  on  Gilead  and  discern 

Mount  Hor  and  Mount  Abarim,  'neath  whose  crest 

Thy  luminaries  twain,  thy  guides  and  beacons  rest. 

Thy  air  is  life  unto  my  soul,  thy  grains 

Of  dust  are  myrrh,  thy  streams  with  honey  flow  ; 

Naked  and  barefoot,  to  thy  ruined  fanes 

How  gladly  would  I  go  ; 

To  where  the  ark  was  treasured,  and  in  dim 

Recesses  dwelt  the  holy  cherubim. 

I  rend  the  beauty  of  my  locks,  and  cry 
In  bitter  wrath  against  the  cruel  fate 
That  bids  thy  holy  Nazarites  to  lie 
In  earth  contaminate. 

How  can  I  make  or  meat  or  drink  my  care, 
How  can  mine  eyes  enjoy 
The  light  of  day,  when  I  see  ravens  tear 
Thy  eagles'  flesh,  and  dogs  thy  lions'  whelps  de- 
stroy ? 
Away  !  thou  cup  of  sorrow's  poisoned  gall  ! 
Scarce  can  my  soul  thy  bitterness  sustain. 
When  I  Ahola  unto  mind  recall, 
I  taste  thy  venom  ;  and  when  once  again 
Upon  Aholiba  I  muse,  thy  dregs  I  drain. 

Perfect  in  beauty,  Zion  !  how  in  thee 
Do  love  and  grace  unite  ! 
The  souls  of  thy  companions  tenderly 
Turn  unto  thee  ;  thy  joy  was  their  delight, 


270  ODE   TO    ZION 

And,  weeping,  they  lament  thy  ruin  now. 

In  distant  exile,  for  thy  sacred  height 

They  long,  and  towards  thy  gates  in  prayer  they 

bow. 
Thy  flocks  are  scattered  o'er  the  barren  waste, 
Yet  do  they  not  forget  thy  sheltering  fold, 
Unto  thy  garment's  fringe  they  cling,  and  haste 
The  branches  of  thy  palms  to  seize  and  hold. 

Shinar  and  Pathros  !  come  they  near  to  thee  ? 

Naught  are  they  by  thy  Light  and  Right  divine. 

To  what  can  be  compared  the  majesty 

Of  thy  anointed  line  ? 

To  what  the  singers,  seers,  and  Levites  thine  ? 

The  rule  of  idols  fails  and  is  cast  down, 

Thy  power  eternal  is,  from  age  to  age,  thy  crown. 

The  Lord  desires  thee  for  his  dwelling  place 

Eternally  ;  and  blest 

Is  he  whom  God  has  chosen  for  the  grace 

Within  thy  courts  to  rest. 

Happy  is  he  that  watches,  drawing  near, 

Until  he  sees  thy  glorious  lights  arise, 

And  over  whom  thy  dawn  breaks  full  and  clear 

Set  in  the  Orient  skies. 

But  happiest  he,  who,  with  exultant  eyes, 

The  bliss  of  thy  redeemed  ones  shall  behold, 

And  see  thy  youth  renewed  as  in  the  days  of  old. 

JEHUDA    HALEVI 
Translation  from  the  Hebrew  by  Mrs.  Henry  Lucas 


SABBATH,    MY    LOVE  2"]\ 


95 

SABBATH,  MY  LOVE 

I  greet  my  love  with  wine  and  gladsome  lay  ; 
Welcome,  thrice  welcome,  joyous  Seventh  Day! 

Six  slaves  the  week  days  are  ;  I  share 
With  them  a  round  of  toil  and  care, 
Yet  light  the  burdens  seem,  I  bear 

For  thy  sweet  sake,  Sabbath  my  love  I 

On  Sunday,  to  the  accustomed  task 

I  go  content,  nor  guerdon  ask 

Save  in  thy  smile,  at  length,  to  bask — 

Day  blessed  of  God,  Sabbath  my  love  ! 

Is  Monday  dull,  Tuesday  unbright  ? 

Hide  sun  and  stars  from  Wednesday's  sight  ? 

What  need  I  care,  who  have  thy  light, 

Orb  of  my  life,  Sabbath  my  love ! 

The  fifth  day,  joyful  tidings  ring : 

"  The  morrow  shall  thy  freedom  bring  !  " 

At  dawn  a  slave,  at  eve  a  king — 

God's  table  waits,  Sabbath  my  love ! 

On  Friday  cloth  my  cup  o'erflow, 
What  blissful  rest  the  night  shall  know 
When,  in  thine  arms,  my  toil  and  woe 

Are  all  forgot,  Sabbath  my  love ! 


272  THE    HARVEST    FESTIVAL 

'Tis  dusk.     With  sudden  light,  distilled 
From  one  sweet  face,  the  world  is  filled  ; 
The  tumult  of  my  heart  is  stilled — 

For  thou  art  come,  Sabbath  my  love ! 

Bring  fruits  and  wine  and  sing  a  gladsome  lay, 
Cry  "  Come  in  peace,  O  restful  Seventh  Day  !  " 

JEHUDA    HALEVI 

Free  translation  from  the  Hebrew  by  Solomon  Solis-Cohen 


96 

THE  HARVEST  FESTIVAL 

(Succoth — From  Tancred) 

The  feast  of  tabernacles  shalt  thou  hold  for  thyself  seven 
days,  when  thou  hast  gathered  in  the  produce  of  thy  threshing 
floor  and  of  thy  wine-press. —  Deuteronomy  xvi.  13. 

And  ye  shall  take  unto  yourselves  on  the  first  day  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  hadar,  branches  of  palm  trees,  and  the  boughs 
of  the  myrtle  tree,  and  willows  of  the  brook  ;  and  ye  shall 
rejoice  before  the  Lord  your  God  seven  days. — Leviticus 
xxiii.  40. 

The  vineyards  of  Israel  have  ceased  to  exist,  but 
the  eternal  law  enjoins  the  children  of  Israel  still 
to  celebrate  the  vintage.  A  race  that  persist  in  cele- 
brating their  vintage,  although  they  have  no  fruits 
to  gather,  will  regain  their  vineyards.  What 
sublime  inexorability  in  the  law !  But  what  in- 
domitable spirit  in  the  people. 

It  is  easy  for  the  happier  Sephardim,  the  Hebrews 
who  have  never  quitted  the  sunny  regions  that  are 


THE    HARVEST    FESTIVAL  273 

laved  by  the  Midland  Ocean, — it  is  easy  for  them, 
though  they  have  lost  their  heritage,  to  sympathize, 
in  their  beautiful  Asian  cities,  or  in  their  Moorish 
and  Arabian  gardens,  with  the  graceful  rites  that 
are,  at  least,  an  homage  to  a  benignant  nature. 
But  picture  to  yourself  the  child  of  Israel  in  the 
dingy  suburb  or  the  squalid  quarter  of  some  bleak 
'northern  town,  where  there  is  never  a  sun  that  can 
at  any  rate  ripen  grapes.  Yet  he  must  celebrate 
the  vintage  of  purple  Palestine !  The  law  has  told 
him,  though  a  denizen  in  an  icy  clime,  that  he  must 
dwell  for  seven  days  in  a  bower,  and  that  he  must 
build  it  of  the  boughs  of  thick  trees ;  and  the  Rab- 
bins have  told  him  that  these  thick  trees  are  the 
palm,  the  myrtle,  and  the  weeping  willow.  Even 
Sarmatia  may  furnish  a  weeping  willow.  The  law 
has  told  him  that  he  must  pluck  the  fruit  of  goodly 
trees,  and  the  Rabbins  have  explained  that  the 
goodly  fruit  on  this  occasion  is  confined  to  the 
citron 

His  mercantile  connections  will  enable  him, 
often  at  considerable  cost,  to  procure  some  palm 
leaves   from  Canaan  which  he   may  wave  in  his 

synagogue,  while  he  exclaims, 

"  Hosannah,  in  the  highest !  " 

There  is  something  profoundly  interesting  in 
this  devoted  observance  of  Oriental  customs  in  the 
heart  of  our  Saxon  and  Sclavonian  cities  ;  in  these 
descendants  of  the  Bedoueens,  who  conquered 
Canaan  more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  still 
celebrating  that  success  which  secured  their  fore- 
fathers for  the  first  time  grapes  and  wine. 


2/4  THE    HARVEST    FESTIVAL 

Conceive  a  being  born  and  bred  in  the  Juden- 
strasse  of  Hamburg  or  Frankfort,  or  rather  in  the 
purlieus  of  our  Houndsditch  or  Minories,  born  to 
hereditary  insult,  without  any  education,  apparently 
without  a  circumstance  that  can  develop  the 
slightest  taste  or  cherish  the  least  sentiment  for 
the  beautiful,  living  amid  fogs  and  filth,  never 
treated  with  kindness,  seldom  with  justice,  occu- 
pied with  the  meanest,  if  not  the  vilest,  toil, 
bargaining  for  frippery,  speculating  in  usury,  under 
the  concurrent  influences  of  degrading  causes 
which  would  have  worn  out  long  ago  any  race  that 
was  not  of  the  unmixed  blood  of  Caucasus,  and 
did  not  adhere  to  the  laws  of  Moses — conceive 
such  a  being,  an  object  to  you  of  prejudice,  dislike, 
disgust,  perhaps  hatred.  The  season  arrives,  and 
the  mind  and  heart  of  that  being  are  filled  with 
images  and  passions  that  have  been  ranked  in  all 
ages  among  the  most  beautiful  and  the  most 
genial  of  human  experience;  filled  with  a  subject 
the  most  vivid,  the  most  graceful,  the  most  joyous, 
and  the  most  exuberant — a  subject  that  has  in- 
spired poets,  and  which  has  made  gods — the  harvest 
of  the  grape  in  the  native  regions  of  the  Vine. 

He  rises  in  the  morning,  goes  early  to  some 
Whitechapel  market,  purchases  some  willow  boughs 
for  which  he  has  previously  given  a  commission,  and 
which  are  brought  probably  from  one  of  the  neigh- 
boring rivers  of  Essex,  hastens  home,  cleans  out 
the  yard  of  his  miserable  tenement,  builds  his 
bower,  decks  it,  even  profusely,  with  the  finest 
flowers  and  fruits  that  he  can  procure,  the  myrtle 


THE    HARVEST    FESTIVAL  275 

and  the  citron  never  forgotten,  and  hangs  its  roof 
with  variegated  lamps.  After  the  service  of  his 
Synagogue,  he  sups  late  with  his  wife  and  his  chil- 
dren in  the  open  air,  as  if  he  were  in  the  pleasant 
villages  of  Galilee,  beneath  its  sweet  and  starry 
sky. 

Perhaps,  as  he  is  giving  the  Keedush,  the 
Hebrew  blessing  to  the  Hebrew  meal,  breaking 
and  distributing  the  bread,  and  sanctifying  with  a 
preliminary  prayer  the  goblet  of  wine  he  holds,  .  . 
or  perhaps  as  he  is  offering  up  the  peculiar  thanks- 
giving of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  praising 
Jehovah  for  the  vintage  which  his  children  may  no 
longer  cull,  but  also  for  his  promise  that  they  may 
some  day  again  enjoy  it,  and  his  wife  and  his  chi) 
dren  are  joining  in  a  pious  Hosannah — that  is, 
Save  us  !  —a  party  of  Anglo-Saxons,  very  respect- 
able men,  ten-pounders,  a  little  elevated  it  may  be, 
though  certainly  not  in  honor  of  the  vintage,  pass 
the  house,  and  words  like  these  are  heard  : 

"  I  say,  Buggins,  what's  that  row  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  it's  those  cursed  Jews  !  we've  a  lot  of  'em 
here.  It  is  one  of  their  horrible  feasts.  The  Lord 
Mayor  ought  to  interfere  However,  things  are 
not  as  bad  as  they  used  to  be  ;  they  used  always  to 
crucify  little  boys  at  these  hullabaloos,  but  now 
they  only  eat  sausages  made  of  stinking  pork." 

"To  be  sure,"  replies  his  companion,  "we  all 
make  progress." 

BENJAMIN    DISRAELI 


276  ISRAEL    AND    HIS    REVELATION 

97 

ISRAEL  AND  HIS  REVELATION 

(From  Literature  and  Dogma) 

The  whole  history  of  the  world  to  this  day  is  in 
truth  one  continual  establishing  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment revelation  :  O  ye  that  love  the  Eternal,  see  that 
ye  hate  the  tiling  that  is  evil 7  to  him   that  ordereth 
his  conversation  right,  shall  be  shown  the  salvation 
of  God.     And  whether  we  consider  this  revelation 
in  respect  to  human  affairs  at  large,  or  in  respect 
to  individual  happiness,  in  either  case  its  import- 
ance is  so  immense,  that  the  people  to  whom  it  was 
given,  and  whose  record  is  in  the  Bible,  deserve 
fully  to  be  singled  out  as  the  Bible  singles  them. 
"  Behold,  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross 
darkness  the  nations  ;  but  the  Eternal  shall  arise 
upon  thee,  and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee  ! " 
For,  while  other  nations  had  the  misleading  idea 
that  this  or  that,  other  than  righteousness,  is  sav- 
ing, and  it  is  not ;  that  this  or  that,  other  than  con- 
duct, brings  happiness,  and  it  does  not  ;  Israel  had 
the  true  idea  that  righteousness  is  saving,  and  that 
to  conduct  belongs  happiness. 

Nor  let  it  be  said  that  other  nations,  too,  had  at 
least  something  of  this  idea.  They  had,  but  they 
were  not  possessed  with  it  ;  and  to  feel  it  enough  to 
make  the  world  feel  it,  it  was  necessary  to  be  pos- 
sessed with  it.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  have  been  vis- 
ited with  such  an  idea  at  times,  to  have  had  it  forced 


ISRAEL    AS    BRIDE    AND    AS    BEGGAR  277 

occasionally  on  one's  mind  by  the  teachings  of  ex- 
perience. No ;  he  tJiat  hath  the  bride  is  the  bride- 
groom :  the  idea  belongs  to  him  who  has  most  loved 
it.  Common  prudence  can  say  :  Honesty  is  the 
best  policy  ;  morality  can  say  :  To  conduct  belongs 
happiness.  But  Israel  and  the  Bible  are  filled  with 
religious  joy,  and  rise  higher  and  say  :  "Righteous- 
ness is  salvation!"  and  this  is  what  is  inspiring. 
"I  have  stuck  unto  thy  testimonies  !  Eternal  what 
love  have  I  unto  thy  law !  all  the  day  long  is  my 
study  in  it.  Thy  testimonies  have  I  claimed  as 
mine  heritage  for  ever,  and  why  ?  they  are  the  very 
joy  of  my  heart  /"  This  is  why  the  testimonies  of 
righteousness  are  Israel's  heritage  forever,  because 
they  were  the  very  joy  of  his  heart.  Herein  Israel 
stood  alone,  the  friend  and  elect  of  the  Eternal. 
"  He  showeth  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and 
ordinances  unto  Israel.  He  hath  not  dealt  so  with 
any  nation,  neither  have  the  heathen  knowledge  of 
his  laws." 

MATTHEW    ARNOLD 


98 

ISRAEL  AS  BRIDE  AND  AS  BEGGAR 

I  From  Jews  of  Angevin  England,  by  Joseph  Jacobs) 

Erst  radiant  the  Bride  adored, 
On  whom  rich  wedding  gifts  are  poured ; 
She  weeps,  sore  wounded,  overthrown, 
Exiled  and  outcast,  shunned  and  lone. 


27S  "forgiven" 

Laid  all  aside  her  garments  fair, 

The  pledges  of  a  bond  divine, 
A  wandering  beggar-woman's  wear 

Is  hers  in  lieu  of  raiment  fine. 

Ohaunted  hath  been  in  every  land 
The  beauty  of  her  crown  and  zone  ; 
Now  doomed,  dethroned  she  maketh  moan, 

Bemocked — a  byword — cursed  and  banned. 

An  airy,  joyous  step  was  hers 

Beneath  Thy  wing.     But  now  she  crawls 
Along  and  mourns  her  sons  and  errs 

At  every  step,  and,  worn  out,  falls. 

And  yet  to  Thee  she  clingeth  tight, 
Vain,  vain  to  her  man's  mortal  might 
Which  in  a  breath  to  naught  is  hurled, 
Thy  smile  alone  makes  up  her  world. 

ELCHANAN 
Translation  by  Israel  Zangwill 

(The  acrostic  informs  us  that  this   poem  was  written  by 
Elchanan.) 


99 
"FORGIVEN" 

(From  Jews  of  Angevin  England,  by  Joseph  Jacobs) 

Ay  'tis  thus  Evil  us  hath  in  bond ; 

By  thy  grace  guilt  efface  and  respond 

"  Forgiven ! " 
Cast  scorn  o'er  and  abhor  th' informer's  word; 

Dear  Cod,  deign         this  refrain  to  make  heard 

"  Forgiven ! " 


"  FORGIVEN 


279 


Ear  in  lieu 
Favoring 

Grant  also 
Heal  our  shame 

Just  forgiving, 
List  our  cry, 

My  wound  heal, 
Now  gain  praise 

O  forgive ! 
Praised  for  grace, 

Raise  to  Thee 
Sin  unmake 

Tears,  regret, 
Uplift  trust 

Voice  that  moans, 
Weigh  not  Haws, 

Yea,  off-rolled, 
Zion's  folk, 

/  >ay  by  day 
Good  One  !  let 


give  him  who 
answer,  King, 

the  lily  blow 
and  proclaim 

Mercy  living, 
loud  reply 

deep  conceal 
by  Thy  phrase 

Thy  sons  live 
Turn  thy  face 

this  my  plea, 
for  Thy  sake 

witness  set 
from  the  dust 

tears  and  groans, 
plead  my  cause, 

as  foretold, 
free  of  yoke 

stronghold  they 
stronger  yet 


intercedes; 
when  he  pleads, 

"  Forgiven  ! " 
in  Abram's  right; 
from  thine  height 

"  Forgiven!  " 
sin  condone; 
from  Thy  Throne 

"  Forgiven  !  " 
stain  and  flake, 
"  For  My  sake, 

Forgiven ! " 
from  thee  reft ; 
to  those  left — 

"  Forgiven ! " 
take  my  pray'r, 
and  declare, 

"  Forgiven ! " 
in  Sin's  place; 
to  Thy  face — 

"  Forgiven  ! " 
do  not  spurn ; 
and  return, 

"  Forgiven ! " 
clouds  impure, 
O  assure, 

"  Forgiven !  " 
seek  in  Thee, 
Thy  word  be 

"  Forgiven !  " 
YOMTOB   OF   YORK 
Translation  by  Israel  Zangvvill 


280  JEWISH   NATIONALITY 

IOO 

JEWISH  NATIONALITY 

(From  Daniel  Deronda) 

"  Well,  whatever  the  Jews  contributed  at  one 
time,  they  are  a  stand-still  people,"  said  Lilly. 
"They  are  the  type  of.  obstinate  adherence  to  the 
superannuated.  They  may  show  good  abilities 
when  they  take  up  liberal  ideas,  but  as  a  race  they 
have  no  development  in  them." 

"That  is  false  !  "  said  Mordecai,  leaning  forward 
again  with  his  former  eagerness.  "  Let  their  his- 
tory be  known  and  examined ;  let  the  seed  be 
sifted,  let  its  beginning  be  traced  to  the  weed  of 
the  wilderness— the  more  glorious  will  be  the 
energy  that  transformed  it.  Where  else  is  there  a 
nation  of  whom  it  may  be  as  truly  said  that  their 
religion  and  law  and  moral  life  mingled  as  the 
stream  of  blood  in  the  heart  and  made  one  growth — 
where  else  a  people  who  kept  and  enlarged  their 
spiritual  store  at  the  very  time  when  they  were 
hunted  with  a  hatred  as  fierce  as  the  forest-fires 
that  chase  the  wild  beast  from  his  covert  ?  There 
is  a  fable  of  the  Roman,  that,  swimming  to  save 
his  life,  he  held  the  roll  of  his  writings  between  his 
teeth  and  saved  them  from  the  waters.  But  how 
much  more  than  that  is  true  of  our  race  ?  They 
struggled  to  keep  their  place  among  the  nations 
like  heroes — yea,  when  the  hand  was  hacked  off, 
they  clung  with  the  teeth  ;  but  when  the  plow  and 


JEWISH    NATIONALITY  28 1 

the  harrow  had  passed  over  the  last  visible  signs  of 
their  national   covenant,  and   the   fruitfulness   of 
their  land  was  stifled  with  the  blood  of  the  sowers 
and  planters,  they  said,  '  The  spirit  is  alive,  let  us 
make  it  a  lasting  habitation — lasting  because  mov- 
able— so  that  it  may  be  carried  from  generation  to 
generation,  and  our  sons  unborn   may  be  rich  in 
the  things  that  have  been,  and  possess  a  hope  built 
on  an  unchangeable  foundation.'     They  said  it  and 
they  wrought  it,  though  often  breathing  with  scant 
life,  as  in  a  coffin,  or  as  lying  wounded  amidst  a 
heap  of  slain.     Hooted  and  scared  like  the  unowned 
do£,  the  Hebrew  made  himself  envied  for  his  wealth 
and  wisdom,  and  was  bled  of  them  to  fill  the  bath 
of   Gentile   luxury ;    he   absorbed   knowledge,    he 
diffused  it ;  his  dispersed  race  was  a  new  Phoenicia 
working  the  mines  of  Greece,  and  carrying  their 
products  to  the  world.     The  native  spirit  of   our 
tradition  was  not  to  stand  still,  but  to  use  records 
as  a  seed,  and  draw  out  the  compressed  virtues  of 
law  and  prophecy ;  and  while  the  Gentile,  who  had 
said,  'What  is  yours  is  ours,  and  no  longer  yours,' 
was  reading  the  letter  of  our  law  as  a  dark  inscrip- 
tion, or  was  turning  its  parchments  into  shoe-soles 
for  an  army  rabid  with  lust  and  cruelty,  our  Masters 
were  still  enlarging  and  illuminating  with  fresh-fed 
interpretation.     But  the  dispersion  was  wide,  the 
yoke  of  oppression  was  a  spiked  torture  as  well  as 
a  load;  the  exile  was  forced  afar   among  brutish 
people,  where  the  consciousness  of  his  race  was  no 
clearer  to  him  than  the  light  of   the  sun  to  our 
fathers  in  the  Roman  persecution,  who  had  their 


282  JEWISH    NATIONALITY 

hiding  place  in  a  cave,  and  knew  not  that  it  was  day 
save  by  the  dimmer  burning  of  their  candles. 
What  wonder  that  multitudes  of  our  people  are 
ignorant,  narrow,  superstitious?    What  wonder?" 

Here  Mordecai,  whose  seat  was  near  the  fire- 
place, rose  and  leaned  his  arm  on  the  little  shelf; 
his  excitement  had  risen,  though  his  voice,  which 
had  begun  with  unusual  strength,  was  getting 
hoarser. 

"  What  wonder  ?  The  night  is  unto  them,  that 
they  have  no  vision ;  in  their  darkness  they  are 
unable  to  divine ;  the  sun  is  gone  down  over  the 
prophets,  and  the  day  is  dark  above  them ;  their 
observances  are  as  nameless  relics.  But  which 
among  the  chief  of  the  Gentile  nations  has  not  an 
ignorant  multitude  ?  They  scorn  our  people's 
ignorant  observance  ;  but  the  most  accursed  ignor- 
ance is  that  which  has  no  observance — sunk  to  the 
cunning  greed  of  the  fox,  to  which  all  law  is  no 
more  than  a  trap  or  the  cry  of  the  worrying  hound. 
There  is  a  degradation  deep  down  below  the  mem- 
ory that  has  withered  into  superstition.  In  the 
multitudes  of  the  ignorant  on  three  continents  who 
observe  our  rites  and  make  the  confession  of  the 
Divine  Unity,  the  soul  of  Judaism  is  not  dead. 
Revive  the  organic  centre:  let  the  unity  of  Israel 
which  has  made  the  growth  and  form  of  its  religion 
be  an  outward  reality.  Looking  toward  a  land  and 
a  polity,  our  dispersed  people  in  all  ends  of  the 
earth  may  share  the  dignity  of  a  national  life  which 
has  a  voice  among  the  peoples  of  the  East  and  the 
West — which  will  plant  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  our 


JEWISH    NATIONALITY  283 

race  so  that  it  may  be,  as  of  old,  a  medium  of  trans- 
mission and  understanding.  Let  that  come  to  pass, 
and  the  living  warmth  will  spread  to  the  weak 
extremities  of  Israel,  and  superstition  will  vanish, 
not  in  the  lawlessness  of  the  renegade,  but  in  the 
illumination  of  great  facts  which  widen  feeling,  and 
make  all  knowledge  alive  as  the  young  offspring  of 
beloved  memories." 

All  eyes  were  fixed  on  Mordecai  as  he  sat  down 
again,  and  none  with  unkindness ;  but  it  happened 
that  the  one  who  felt  the  most  kindly  was  the  most 
prompted  to  speak  in  opposition.  This  was  the 
genial  and  rational  Gideon,  who  also  was  not  with- 
out a  sense  that  he  was  addressing  the  guest  of  the 
evening.     He  said  : 

"You  have  your  own  way  of  looking  at  things, 
Mordecai,  and,  as  you  say,  your  own  way  seems  to 
you  rational.  I  know  you  don't  hold  with  the  restor- 
ation to  Judea,  by  miracle,  and  so  on  ;  but  you  are 
as  well  aware  as  I  am  that  the  subject  has  been 
mixed  with  a  heap  of  nonsense  both  by  Jews  and 
Christians.  And  as  to  the  connection  of  our  race 
with  Palestine,  it  has  been  perverted  by  supersti- 
tion till  it's  as  demoralizing  as  the  old  poor-law. 
The  raff  and  scum  go  there  to  be  maintained  like 
able-bodied  paupers,  and  to  be  taken  special  care  of 
by  the  angel  Gabriel  when  they  die.  It's  no  use 
fighting  against  facts.  The  most  learned  and  lib- 
eral men  among  us  who  are  attached  to  our  religion 
are  clearing  our  liturgy  of  all  such  notions  as  a 
literal  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  about  restora- 


284  JEWISH    NATIONALITY 

tion  and  so  on.  Prune  it  of  a  few  useless  rites  and 
literal  interpretations  of  that  sort,  and  our  religion 
is  the  simplest  of  all  religions,  and  makes  no  bar- 
rier, but  a  union,  between  us  and  the  rest  of  the 
world." 

"As  plain  as  a  pike-staff,"  said  Pash,  with  an 
ironical  laugh.  "  You  pluck  it  up  by  the  roots, 
strip  off  the  leaves  and  bark,  shave  off  the  knots, 
and  smooth  it  at  top  and  bottom  ;  put  it  where  you 
will,  it  will  do  no  harm,  it  will  never  sprout.  You 
may  make  a  handle  of  it,  or  you  may  throw  it  on 
the  bon-fire  of  scoured  rubbish.  I  don't  see  why 
our  rubbish  is  to  be  held  sacred  any  more  than  the 
rubbish  of  Brahmanism  or  Buddhism." 

"  No,"  said  Mordecai,  "  no,  Pash,  because  you  have 
lost  the  heart  of  the  Jew.  Community  was  felt 
before  it  was  called  good.  I  praise  no  superstition, 
I  praise  the  living  fountains  of  enlarging  belief. 
What  is  growth,  completion,  development  ?  You 
began  with  that  question  ;  I  apply  it  to  the  history 
of  our  people.  I  say  that  the  effect  of  our  separ- 
ateness  will  not  be  completed  and  have  its  highest 
transformation  unless  our  race  takes  on  again  the 
character  of  a  nationality.  That  is  the  fulfilment 
of  the  religious  trust  that  moulded  them  into  a  peo- 
ple, whose  life  has  made  itself  the  inspiration  of  the 
world.  What  is  it  to  me  that  the  ten  tribes  are  lost 
untraceably,  or  that  multitudes  of  the  children  of 
Judah  have  mixed  themselves  with  the  Gentile 
populations  as  a  river  with  rivers  ?  Behold  our 
people  still!  Their  skirts  spread  afar;  they  are 
torn   and   soiled  and  trodden   on  ;    but  there  is  a 


JEWISH    NATIONALITY  285 

jeweled  breastplate.  Let  the  wealthy  men,  the 
monarchs  of  commerce,  the  learned  in  all  knowl- 
edge, the  skilful  in  all  arts,  the  speakers,  the  politi- 
cal counsellors,  who  carry  in  their  veins  the  Hebrew 
blood  which  has  maintained  its  vigor  in  all  climates, 
and  the  pliancy  of  the  Hebrew  genius  for  which 
difficulty  means  new  device — letthem  say,  'We  will 
lift  up  a  standard,  we  will  unite  in  a  labor  hard,  but 
glorious,  like  that  of  Moses  and  Ezra,  a  labor  which 
shall  be  a  worthy  fruit  of  the  long  anguish  whereby 
our  fathers  maintained  their  separateness,  refusing 
the  ease  of  falsehood.'  They  have  wealth  enough 
to  redeem  the  soil  from  debauched  and  paupered 
conquerors,  they  have  the  skill  of  the  statesman  to 
devise,  the  tongue  of  the  orator  to  persuade.  And 
is  there  no  prophet  or  poet  among  us  to  make  the 
ears  of  Christian  Europe  tingle  with  shame  at  the 
hideous  obloquy  of  Christian  strife,  which  the  Turk 
gazes  at  as  at  the  fighting  of  beasts  to  which  he  has 
lent  an  arena  ?  There  is  store  of  wisdom  among 
us  to  found  a  new  Jewish  polity,  grand,  simple,  just, 
like  the  old — a  republic  where  there  is  equality  of 
protection,  an  equality  that  shone  like  a  star  on  the 
forehead  of  our  ancient  community,  and  gave  it 
more  than  the  brightness  of  Western  freedom 
amidst  the  despotisms  of  the  East.  Then  our  race 
shall  have  an  organic  centre,  a  heart  and  brain  to 
watch  and  guide  and  execute  ;  the  outraged  Jew 
shall  have  a  defence  in  the  court  of  nations,  as  the 
outraged  Englishman  or  American.  And  the  world 
will  gain  as  Israel  gains.  For  there  will  be  a  com- 
munity in  the  van  of  the   East  which  carries  the 


286  JEWISH    NATIONALITY 

culture  and  the  sympathies  of  every  nation  in  its 
bosom  ;  there  will  be  a  land  set  for  a  halting-place 
of  enmities,  a  neutral  ground  for  the  East  as  Bel- 
gium is  for  the  West.  Difficulties  ?  I  know  there 
are  difficulties.  But  let  the  spirit  of  sublime 
achievement  move  in  the  great  among  our  people, 
and  the  work  will  begin." 

"  It  may  seem  well  enough  on  one  side  to  make 
so  much  of  our  memories  and  inheritance  as  you 
do,  Mordecai,"  said  Gideon;  "but  there's  another 
side.  It  isn't  all  gratitude  and  harmless  glory. 
Our  people  have  inherited  a  good  deal  of  hatred. 
There's  a  pretty  lot  of  curses  still  flying  about,  and 
stiff,  settled  rancor,  inherited  from -the  times  of 
persecution.  How  will  you  justify  keeping  one 
sort  of  memory  and  throwing  away  the  other  ? 
There  are  ugly  debts  standing  on  both  sides." 

"I  justify  the  choice  as  all  other  choice  is 
justified,"  said  Mordecai,  "  I  cherish  nothing  for  the 
Jewish  nation,  I  seek  nothing  for  them,  but  the 
good  which  promises  good  to  all  the  nations.  The 
spirit  of  our  religious  life,  which  is  one  with  our 
national  life,  is  not  hatred  of  aught  but  wrong. 
The  masters  have  said,  an  offence  against  man  is 
worse  than  an  offence  against  God.  But  what 
wonder  if  there  is  hatred  in  the  breasts  of  Jews, 
who  are  children  of  the  ignorant  and  oppressed — 
what  wonder,  since  there  is  hatred  in  the  breasts 
of  Christians  ?  Our  national  life  was  a  growing 
light.  Let  the  central  fire  be  kindled  again,  and 
the    light    will    reach    afar.     The   degraded    and 


JEWISH    NATIONALITY  287 

scorned  of  our  race  will  learn  to  think  of  their 
sacred  land,  not  as  a  place  for  saintly  beggary  to 
await  death  in  loathsome  idleness,  but  as  a  republic 
where  the  Jewish  spirit  manifests  itself  in  a  new 
order  founded  on  the  old,  purified,  enriched  by  the 
experience  our  greatest  sons  have  gathered  from 
the  life  of  the  ages.  How  long  is  it  ? — only  two  cen- 
turies since  a  vessel  carried  over  the  ocean  the  be- 
ginning of  the  great  North  American  nation.  The 
people  grew  like  meeting  waters.  They  were 
various  in  habit  and  sect.  There  came  a  time,  a 
century  ago,  when  they  needed  a  polity,  and  there 
were  heroes  of  peace  among  them.  What  had 
they  to  form  a  polity  with  but  memories  of 
Europe,  corrected  by  the  vision  of  a  better  ?  Let 
our  wise  and  wealthy  show  themselves  heroes. 
They  have  the  memories  of  the  East  and  West, 
and  they  have  the  full  vision  of  a  better.  A  new 
Persia  with  a  purified  religion  magnified  itself  in 
art  and  wisdom.  So  with  a  new  Judea,  poised  be- 
tween East  and  West — a  covenant  of  reconciliation. 
Will  any  say,  the  prophetic  vision  of  your  race  has 
been  hopelessly  mixed  with  folly  and  bigotry  ;  the 
angel  of  progress  has  no  message  for  Judaism — 
it  is  a  half-buried  city  for  the  paid  workers  to  lay 
open — the  waters  are  rushing  by  it  as  a  forsaken 
field  ?  I  say  that  the  strongest  principle  of  growth 
lies  in  human  choice.  The  sons  of  Judah  have  to 
choose,  that  God  may  again  choose  them.  The 
Messianic  time  is  the  time  when  Israel  shall  will 
the  planting  of  the  national  ensign.  The  Nile 
overflowed  and  rushed  onward  :  the  Egyptian  could 


288  JEWISH    NATIONALITY 

not  choose  the  overflow,  but  he  chose  to  work  and 
make  channels  for  the  fructifying  waters,  and 
Egypt  became  the  land  of  corn.  Shall  man,  whose 
soul  is  set  in  the  royalty  of  discernment  and  re- 
solve, deny  his  rank,  and  say,  'I  am  an  onlooker; 
ask  no  choice  or  purpose  of  me  ? '  That  is  the  blas- 
phemy of  his  time.  The  divine  principle  of  our 
race  is  action,  choice,  resolved  memory.  Let  us 
contradict  the  blasphemy,  and  help  to  will  our  own 
better  future  and  the  better  future  of  the  world — 
not  renounce  our  higher  gift,  and  say,  '  Let  us  be 
as  if  we  were  not  among  the  populations  ; '  but 
choose  our  full  heritage,  claim  the  brotherhood  of 
our  nation,  and  carry  into  it  a  new  brotherhood 
with  the  nations  of  the  Gentiles.  The  vision  is 
there  ;  it  will  be  fulfilled." 

GEORGE   ELIOT 


And  here  will  I  make  an  end. 

And  if  I  have  done  well,  and  as  is  fitting  the  story,  it  is  that  which  I  desired  ; 
but  if  slenderly  and  meanly,  it  is  that  which  I  could  attain  unto. 

For  as  it  is  hurtful  to  drink  wine  or  water  alone;  and  as  wine  mingled  with 
water  is  pleasant,  and  delighteth  the  taste  ;  even  so,  speech  finely  framed  delighteth 
the  ears  of  them  that  read  the  story. 

And  here  shall  be  an  end. 

— 2  Maccabees  xv.  37-39. 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS 


(The  figures  refer  lo  the  numbers  of  the  selections) 


Addison,  Joseph,  12 

Aguilar,  Grace,  65 

Aldrich,  Thomas  Bailey,  58, 

74 
Alexander,  C.  F.,  25 
Arnold,  Edwin,  16,  17,  68 
Arnold,  Matthew,  97 
Bonar,  Horatius,  24 
Borthwick,  J.  D.,  32 
Browne,  Frances,  85 
Browning,  Robert,  33 
Bryant,William  Cullen,  13, 27 
Byron,  George  Gordon  Noel, 

2,35.  36>  46,  5J»  54,67 
Campbell,  44 

Cohen,  Solomon  Solis,  66,  91 
Disraeli,    Benjamin,  41,    77, 

93,  96 
Disraeli,  Isaac,  72,  92 
Drayton,  Michael,  53,  59 
Elchanan,  98 
Eliot,  George  (Evans,  Mary 

Ann  C),  100 
Heber,  Reginald,  22 


Herbert,  George,  4 

Hervey,  Thomas  Keble,  SS 

Hood,  Thomas,  31 

Humboldt,  von,  Alexander,  10 

Hunt,  Leigh,  18 

Jackson,  George  Anson,  57 

Jehuda  Halevi,  94,  95 

Joseph  (Rabbi),  70 

Kalonymos  ben  Jehuda,  71 

Kaufmann,  David,  1 

Lazarus,  Emma,  69,  75,  76, 
Si,  82 

Longfellow,  Henry  Wads- 
worth,  40,  62,  63,  64,  83,  84 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babing- 
ton,  79,  So 

Mackay,  Charles,  15 

Milton,  John,  3,  14,  30,  49 

Montgomery,  James,  5,  6,  S 

Moore,  Thomas,  11,  26,  52 

Plumptre,  E.  H.,  34,  42 

Priestley,  Joseph,  7S 

Proctor.  Bryan  Waller,  55 

Reade,  Charles,  50,  60,  6 1 ,  90 


292  INDEX    OF    AUTHORS 

Richardson,  Benjamin  Ward,  Whittier.  John  Greenleaf.  19, 

S7  29,  56,  86 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  9,  73  Wordsworth,  William,  89 

Smith,  Elizabeth  Oakes,  47  Vomtob  of  York,  99             ♦ 

lhble — Leeser's  Translation,  20,  21,  39,  48 
Bible — Revised  Version,  7,  23,  28,  37 
Hebrew  Review,  The,  38,  43,  45 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


(The  figures  refer  to  the  numbers  of  the  selections) 


Abraham  and  the  Fire-Wor- 
shipper, 1 8 

Abraham's  Bread,  17 

Azar  and  Abraham,  16 

Azrael,  40 

Banner  of  the  Jew,  The,  82 

Bar  Kochba,  69 

Battleof  Beth-Horon,The,64 

Belshazzar,  55 

Benjamin  accompanies  his 
Brethren  to  Egypt,  20 

Burial  of  Moses,  25 

But  who  shall  see,  52 

By  the  Rivers  of  Babylon  we 
sat  down  and  wept,  5 1 

Captivity,  The,  50 

Child  Samuel,  The,  32 

Cities  of  the  Plain,  The,  19 

Civil  Disabilities  of  the  Jews, 

79.  80 
Crowing   of  the    Red  Cock, 

The,  81 
David's    Lament   over    Saul 

and  Jonathan,  37 


Death  of  Samson,  30. 
Deborah's  Song,  28 
Dedication  of   the   Temple. 

The,  39 
Descriptions  of  Nature  in  the 

Hebrew  Writers,  10 
Dying  Hebrew's  Prayer,  The, 

88 
Elijah,  45 

Elijah's  Interview,  44 
Exhortation  to   the  Jews  of 

Nordhausen,  76 
Expulsion  of  the  Jews  from 

Spain,  The,  77 
Ezekiel,  56 
False  Gods,  The,  49 
First  Crusade,  The,  71 
Forgiven,  99 
Friday  Night,  91 
Future  of  Judaism,  The,  1 
Harp  the  Monarch  Minstrel 

swept,  The,  2 
Harvest  Festival,  The,  96 
Idolatry,  48 


294 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS 


In  Exile,  70 

Israel  and  his  Revelation,  97 
Israel  as  Bride  and  as   Beg- 
gar, 98 
Jewish  Captive,  The,  47 
Jewish  Family,  A,  89 
Jewish  Nationality,  100 
Jew's  Gift,  The,  74 
Jews  of  York,  The,  72 
Joseph  and  his  Brethren,  2  1 
Judas  Maccabasus,  63 
Judith  and  Holofernes,  58 
Legend  of  I  yob  the  Upright, 

57 

Legend,  of  Paradise,  A,  87 

Legend  of  Rabbi  Ben  Levi, 
The,  83 

Lines  for  the  Ninth  of  Ab,  66 

Mahala  and  her  Seven  Sons, 
62 

Mount  Hor,  24 

Nehemiah,  60 

Nehemiah,  Reformer,  61 

"  No  Man  knoweth  of  his 
Sepulchre,"  27 

Ode  to  Zion,  94 

Of  the  Prophecies  concern- 
ing the  Dispersion  and 
Restoration  of  the  Jews,  78 

Oh !  Weep  for  those,  46 

Ozair  the  Jew,  68 

Passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  22 

Pharisees,  The,  65 

Plea  for  the  Jews  before  the 
Council  at  Nordhausen.  75 

Pools  of  Solomon,  The,  41 

Prayer  of  Mardocheus,  The, 

59 
Prayer  of  Tobias,  A,  53 


Psalm  IV,  3 

Psalm  XXIII,  4 

Psalm  XXVII,  5 

PsalmXLII,6 

Psalm  LXXX,  7 

Psalm  CXXI,  8 

Queen  of  the  South,  The,  42 

Rabbi's  Vision,  The,  85 

Raising  of  Samuel,  The,  35 

Ruth,  31 

Sabbath  in  the  Jewish  Camp, 

93 
Sabbath,  my  Love,  95 
Sabbath,  The,  92  ' 
Sandalphon,  84 
Saul,  33 
Solomon,  The  Youthful  and 

the  Aged,  43 
Song  of  Moses,  23 
Song  of  Rebecca  thejewess,9 
Song  of  Saul  before  his  Last 

Battle,  2,6 
Song  of  the  Stars,  13 
Songs  of  the  Night,  The,  38 
Spacious       Firmament      on 

High,  The,  12 
Thou  art,  O  God,  1 1 
Trial  of  Rebecca,  73 
Tubal  Cain,  15 
Two  Rabbins,  The,  86 
View  of  Paradise,  14 
Vision  of  Belshazzar,  54 
Water  of    Bethlehem   Gate, 

The,  34 
Week,  The,  90 
Weep,  Children  of  Israel,  26 
Wife  of  Manoah,  The,  to  her 

Husband,  29 
Wild  Gazelle,  The,  67 


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75  cents,  School  Edition. 


"THINK  AND  THANK." 

A  Tale  for  the  Young,  Narrating  in  Romantic  Form  the 
Boyhood  of  Sir  Moses  Moutefiore. 

WITH    SIX    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

By  SAMUEL  W.  COOPER. 


OPINIONS  OFTHE  PRESS. 

A  graphic  and  interesting  story,  full  of  incident  and  adventure,  with 
an  admirable  spirit  attending  it  consonant  with  the  kindly  and  sweet, 
though  courageous  and  energetic  temper  of  the  distinguished  philan- 
thropist.— American  (Philadelphia). 

THINK  AND  THANK  is  a  most  useful  corrective  to  race  pr  judice.  It 
is  also  deep  y  interesting  as  a  biographical  sketch  of  a  distinguished 
Englishman. — Pkiladelph la  Ledger. 

A  fine  book  for  boys  of  any  class  to  read. — Public  Opinion  (Washington)..  ♦ 

It  will  have  especial  interest  for  the  boys  of  his  race,  but  all  school- 
boys can  well  afford  to  read  it  and  profit  by  it. — Albany  Evening  Journal. 

Told  simply  and  well. — New  York  Sun. 

An  excellent  story  for  children. — Indianapolis  Journal. 

The  old  as  well  as  the  young  may  learn  a  lesson  from  it.— Jewish 
Exponent. 

It  is  a  thrilling  story  exceedingly  well  told.— American  Israelite. 

The  book  is  written  in  a  plain,  simple  style,  and  is  well  adapted  fc? 
Sunday-school  libraries. — Jewish  Spectator. 

It  is  one  of  the  very  few  books  in  the  English  language  which  can  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  Jewish  boy  with  the  assurance  of  arousing  and 
maintaining  his  interest.— Hebrew  Journal. 

Intended  for  the  young,  but  may  well  be  read  by  their  elders.—  Detroit 
Free  Press. 

Bright  and  attractive  reading. — Philadelphia  Press. 

THINK  AND  THANK  will  please  boys,  and  it  will  be  found  popular 
in  Sunday-school  libraries.— New  York  Herald. 

The  story  is  a  beautiful  one,  and  gives  a  clear  insight  into  the  circum- 
stances, the  training  and  the  motives  that  gave  impulse  and  energy  to 
the  life-work  of  the  great  philanthropist. — Kansas  City  1'imcs. 

We  should  be  glad  to  know  that  this  little  book  has  a  large  circulation 
among  Gentiles  as  well  as  aiming  the  "  chosen  people."  it  has  no  trace 
of  religious  bigotry  about  it,  and  its  perusal  cannot  but  serve  to  make 
Christian  and  Jew  better  known  to  each  other. — Philadelphia  Telegraph. 


Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  postpaid,  59^. 


RABBI  AND  PRIEST. 

A  STORY. 

BY  MILTON  GOLDSMITH. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE    PRESS. 

The  author  has  attempted  to  depict  faithfully  the  customs  and  j>rac- 
tices  of  the  Kussian  people  and  government  in  connection  with  the 
Jewish  population  of  that  country.  The  book  is  a  strong  and  well  writ- 
ten story.  We  read  and  suffer  with  the  sufferers. — Public  Opinion 
(Washington). 

Although  addressed  to  Jews,  with  an  appeal  to  them  to  seek  free- 
dom and  peace  in  America,  it  ought  to  be  read  by  humane  people  of  all 
races  and  religions.  Mr.  Goldsmith  is  a  master  of  English,  and  his 
pure  style  is  one  of  the  real  pleasures  of  the  story. — Philadelphia  Bulle- 
tin. 

The  book  has  the  merit  of  being  well  written,  is  highly  entertaining, 
and  it  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to  all  who  may  want  to  acquaint 
themselves  iuthe  matter  of  the  condition  of  affairs  that  has  recently 
been  attracting  universal  attention. — San  Francisco  Call. 

Rabbi  and  Priest  has  genuine  worth,  and  is  entitled  to  a  rank 
among  the  foremost  of  its  class. — Minneapolis  Tribune. 

The  writer  tells  his  story  from  the  Jewish  standpoint,  and  tells  it 
well. — St.  Louis  Republic. 

The  descriptions  of  life  in  Russia  are  vivid  and  add  greatly  to  the 
charm  of  the  book. — Buffalo  Courier. 

A  very  thrilling  story. — Charleston  {S.  C.)  News. 

Very  like  the  horrid  tales  that  come  from  unhappy  Russia. — hew 

Orleans  Picayune. 

The  situations  are  dramatic  ;  the  dialogue  is  spirited. — Jewish  Mes- 
senger. 

A  history  of  passing  events  in  an  interesting  form. — Jewish  Tidings. 

Rabbi  and  Priest  will  appeal  to  the  sympathy  of  every  reader  in  its 
touching  simplicity  and  truthfulness. — Jewish  Spectator. 


Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  Post-paid,  $1, 


GHIItDKEfl  OF  THE  GHETTO 

BEING 

PICTURES  OF  d  PECULIAR  PEOPLE. 


BY  I.  ZAXGWILL. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

The  art  of  a  Hogarth  or  a  Cruikshank  could  not  have  made  types  of 
character  stand  out  with  greater  force  or  in  bolder  relief  than  has  the 
pen  of  this  author.— Philadelphia  Record. 

It  is  one  of  the  best  pictures  of  Jewish  life  and  thought  that  we  have 
seen  since  the  publication  of  "Daniel  Deronda."— London  Pall  Mall 
Gazette, 

This  book  is  not  a  mere  mechanical  photographic  reproduction  of  the 
people  it  describes,  but  a  glowing,  vivid  portrayal  of  them,  with  all  the 
pulsating  sympathy  of  one  who  understands  them,  their  thoughts  and 
feelings,  with  all  the  picturesque  fidelity  of  the  artist  who  appreciates 
the  spiritual  significance  of  that  which  he  seeks  to  delineate.— Hebrew 
Journal. 

Its  sketches  of  character  have  the  highest  value.  .  .  .  Not  often 
do  we  note  a  book  so  fresh,  true  and  in  every  way  helpful.— Philadelphia 
Evening  Telegraph. 

A  strong  and  remarkable  book.  It  is  not  easy  to  find  a  parallel  to  it. 
We  do  not  know  of  any  other  novel  which  deals  so  fully  and  so  authori- 
tatively with  Judaea  in  modern  London.— Speaker,  London. 

Among  the  notable  productions  of  the  time.  ...  All  that  is  here 
portrayed  is  unquestionable  truth.— Jewish  Exponent. 

Many  of  the  pictures  will  be  recognized  at  once  by  those  who  have 
visited  London  or  are  at  all  familiar  with  the  life  of  that  city.— Detroit 
Free  Prcis. 

It  is  a  succession  of  sharply-penned  realistic  portrayals.— Baltimore 
American. 


TWO  VOLUMES. 
Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  postpam,  ^.50. 


SOME  JEWISH  WOMEN. 


—  BY- 


HENRY  ZIRNDORF. 


OPINIONS    OF    THE   PRESS: 

Moral  purity,  nobility  of  soul,  self-sacrifice,  deep  affection  and  devotion, 
sorrow  aud  happiness  all  enter  into  these  biographies,  and  the  interest 
felt  in  their  perusal  is  added  to  by  the  warmth  and  sympathy  which  the 
author  displays  and  by  his  cultured  aud  vigorous  style  of  writing. — 
Philadelphia  Record. 

His  methods  are  at  once  a  simplification  and  expansion  of  Josephus  and 
the  Talmud  .stories  simply  told,  faithful  presentation  of  the  virtues,  and  not 
infrequently  the  vices,  of  characters  sometimes  legendary,  generally 
real. — New  York  World. 

The  lives  here  given  are  interesting  in  all  cases,  and  are  thrilling  in 
some  cases. — Public  Opinion  (Washington,  D.  C). 

The  volume  is  one  of  universal  historic  interest,  and  is  a  portrayal  of 
the  early  trials  of  Jewish  women. — Boston  Herald. 

Though  the  chapters  are  brief,  they  are  clearly  the  result  of  deep  and 
thorough  research  that  gives  the  modest  volume  an  historical  and  critical 
value. — Philadelphia  Times. 

It  is  an  altogether  creditable  undertaking  that  the  present  author  has 
brought  to  so  gratifying  a  close — the  silhouette  drawing  of  Biblical 
female  character  against  the  background  of  those  ancient  historic  times. 
— Minneapolis  Tribune. 

Henry  Zirndorf  ranks  high  as  a  student,  thinker  and  writer,  and  this 
little  book  will  go  far  to  encourage  the  study  of  Hebrew  literature. — 
Denver  Republican. 

The  book  is  gracefully  written,  and  has  many  strong  touches  of  char- 
acterizations.—  Toledo  Blade. 

The  sketches  are  based  upon  available  history  and  are  written  in  clear 
narrative  style.— Galveston  News. 

Henry  Zirndorf  has  done  a  piece  of  work  of  much  literary  excellence 
in  "  Some  Jewish  Women." — bt.  Louis  Post-Dispatch. 

It  is  an  attractive  bonk  in  appearance  and  full  of  curious  biographical 
research. — Baltimore  Sun. 

The  writer  shows  careful  research  and  conscientiousness  in  making 
his  narratives  historically  correct  and  in  giving  to  each  heroine  her  just 
due.— American  Israelite  (Cincinnati). 


Bound  in  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Gilt  Top.    Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWS. 

BY 

PROFESSOR  H.  QRAETZ. 


Vol.      I.    From  the  Earliest  Period  to  the  Death  of  Simon  the 

Maccabee  (135  1$.  C.  F.). 
Vol.    II.    From  the  Reign  ofHyrcanus  to  the  Completion  of  the 

Babylonian  Talmud  (500  C.  E.). 
Vol.  III.     From  the  Completion  of  the  Pabylonian  Talmud    t.» 

the   Hanishmeiit  of  the   Jews   from   Kngland   (1290 

C.  E.  |. 
Vol.  IV.    From  the  Rise  of  the  Kahh:ila  (1270  C.  E.)  to  the  Per- 
manent Settlement  ofthe  Marranosin  Holland  (1618 

C.  E.). 
Vol.      V.     From  the  Chmielnicki  Persecution  in   Poland  (164S 

C.  E.)  to  the  Present  Time.    (In  press.) 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

Professor  Graetz's  History  is  universally  accepted  as  a  conscientious 
and  reliable  contribution  to  religious  literature. — Philadelphia  Telegraph. 

Aside  from  his  value  as  a  historian,  he  makes  his  pages  charming  by 
all  the  little  side-lights  and  illustrations  which  only  come  at  the  beck 
of  genius. — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

The  writer,  who  is  considered  by  far  the  greatest  of  Jewish  historians, 
is  the  pioneer  iu  his  field  of  work— history  without  theology  or  polemics. 

.  .  .  His  monumental  work  promises  to  be  the  standard  by  which 
all  other  Jewish  histories  are  to  be  measured  by  Jews  for  many  years  to 
come. — Baltimore  American. 

Whenever  the  subject  constrains  the  author  to  discuss  the  Christian 
religion,  he  is  animated  by  a  spirit  not  unworthy  of  the  philosophic  and 
high-minded  hero  of  Lessing's  "  Nathan  the  Wise." — New  York  Sun. 

It  is  an  exhaustive  and  scholarly  work,  for  which  the  student  of  his- 
tory has  reason  to  be  devoutly  thankful.  ...  It  will  be  welcomed 
also  for  the  writer's  excellent  style  and  for  the  almost  gossipy  way  in 
which  he  turns  aside  from  the  serious  narrative  to  illumine  his  pages 
with  illustrative  descriptions  of  life  and  scenery. — Detroit  Free  Press. 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  the  compilation  is  its  succinctness  and 
rapidity  of  narrative,  while  at  the  same  time  necessary  detail  is  not 
sacrificed. — Minneapolis  Tribune. 

Whatever  controversies  the  work  may  awaken,  of  its  noble  scholarship 
there  can  be  no  question. — Richmond  Dispatch. 

If  one  desires  to  study  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people  under  the 
direction  of  a  scholar  and  pleasant  writer  who  is  in  sympathy  with  his 
subject  because  he  is  himself  a  Jew,  he  should  resort  to  the  volumes  of 
Graetz.— Review  of  Reviews  (New  York). 

Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  postpaid,  $3  per  volume. 


SABBATH  HOURS. 

THOUGHTS. 
By   LIEBMAN  ADLER. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

Rabbi  Adler  was  a  man  of  strong  and  fertile  mind,  and  his  sermons 
are  eminently  readable.— Sunday  School  Times. 

As  one  turns  from  sermon  to  sermon,  he  gathers  a  wealth  of  precept, 
which,  if  he  would  practice,  he  would  make  both  himself  and  others 
happier.  We  might  quote  from  every  page  some  noble  utterance  or 
sweet  thought  well  worthy  of  the  cherishing  by  either  Jew  or  Christian. 
— Richmon d  D isp a tch. 

The  topics  discussed  are  in  the  most  instances  practical  in  their 
nature.  All  are  instructive,  and  passages  of  rare  eloquence  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence. — San  Francisco  Call. 

The  sermons  are  simple  and  careful  studies,  sometimes  of  doctrine, 
but  more  often  of  teaching  and  precept.— Chicago  Times. 

He  combined  scholarly  attainment  with  practical  experience,  and 
these  sermons  cover  a  wide  range  of  subject.  Some  of  them  are  singu- 
larly modern  in  tone.—  Indianapolis  News. 

They  are  modern  sermons,  dealing  with  the  problems  of  the  day,  and 
convey  the  interpretation  which  these  problems  should  receive  in  the 
light  of  the  Old  Testament  history.— Boston  Herald. 

While  this  book  is  not  without  interest  in  those  communities  where 
there  is  no  scarcity  of  religious  teaching  and  influence,  it  cannot  fail  to 
be  particularly  so  in  those  communities  where  there  is  but  little  Jewish 
teaching. — Baltimore  American. 

The  sermons  are  thoughtful  and  earnest  in  tone  and  draw  many  forci- 
ble and  pertinent  lessons  from  the  Old  Testament  records.—  Syracuse 
Herald. 

They  are  saturated  with  Bible  lore,  but  every  incident  taken  from  the 
Old  Testament  is  made  to  illustrate  some  truth  in  modern  life. — San 
Francisco  Chronicle. 

They  are  calm  and  conservative,  .  .  .  applicable  in  their  essential 
meaning  to  the  modern  religious  needs  of  Gentile  as  well  as  Jew.  In 
style  they  are  eminently  clear  and  direct.— Review  of  Reviews  (New  York). 

Able,  forcible,  helpful  thoughts  upon  themes  most  essential  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  family,  society  and  the  state.—  Public  Opinion  (Washing- 
ton, D.  C). 

Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  postpaid,  $1.25. 


RARERS 

OF  THE 

Jewish  Women's  Congress 

HELD  AT  CHICAGO,  SEPTEMBER,  1893. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS. 

This  meeting  was  held  during  the  first  week  of  September,  and  was 
marked  by  the  presentation  of  some  particularly  interesting  addresses 
and  plans.  This  volume  is  a  complete  report  of  the  sessions.— Chicago 
Times. 

The  collection  In  book  form  of  the  papers  read  at  the  Jewish  Women's 
Congress  .  .  .  makes  an  interesting  and  valuable  book  of  the  history 
and  affairs  of  the  Jewish  women  of  America  and  England. — St.  Louis 
Post-Dispatch. 

A  handsome  and  valuable  souvenir  of  an  event  of  great  significance 
to  the  people  of  the  Jewish  faith,  and  of  much  interest  and  value  to  in- 
telligent and  well-informed  people  of  all  faiths. — Kansas  City  Times. 

The  Congress  was  a  branch  of  the  parliament  of  religions  and  was  a 
great  success,  arousing  the  interest  of  Jews  and  Christians  alike,  and 
bringing  together  from  all  parts  of  the  country  women  interested  in 
their  religion,  following  similar  lines  of  work  and  sympathetic  in  ways 
of  thought.  .  .  .  The  papers  in  the  volume  are  all  of  interest. — 
Detroit  Free  Press. 

The  Jewish  Publication  Society  of  America  has  done  a  good  work  in 
gathering  up  and  issuing  in  a  well-printed  volume  the  "  Papers  of  the 
Jewish  Women's  Congress." — Cleveland  Plain-Dealer. 

Bound  in  Cloth.  Price,  Postpaid,  $1. 


OLD 
EUROPEAN   JEWRIES 

By  DAVID  PHILIPSON,  D.D. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS 

A  good  purpose  is  served  in  this  unpretending  little  book,  .  .  . 
which  contains  an  amount  and  kind  of  information  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  elsewhere  without  great  labor.  The  author's  subject  is 
the  Ghetto,  or  Jewish  quarter  in  European  cities. — Literary  World 
(Boston). 

It  is  interesting  ...  to  see  the  foundation  of  ...  so  much 
fiction  that  is  familiar  to  us— to  go,  as  the  author  here  lias  gone  in  one 
of  his  trips  abroad,  into  the  remains  of  the  old  Jewries. — Baltimore  Sun. 

His  book  is  a  careful  study  limited  to  the  official  Ghetto. — Cincinnati 
Commercial-  Gazette. 

Out-of-the-way  information,  grateful  to  the  delver  in  antiquities, 
forms  the  staple  of  a  work  on  the  historic  Ghettos  of  Europe.— Mil- 
waukee Sentinel. 

He  tells  the  story  of  the  Ghettos  calmly,  sympathetically  and  con- 
scientiously, and  his  deductions  are  in  harmony  with  those  of  all  other 
intelligent  and  fair-minded  men. — Richmond  Dispatch. 

A  striking  study  of  the  results  of  a  system  that  has  left  its  mark  upon 
the  Jews  of  all  countries.— San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

He  has  carefully  gone  over  all  published  accounts  and  made  discrimi- 
nating use  of  the  publications,  both  recent  and  older,  on  his  subject,  in 
German,  French  and  English.— Reform  Advocate  (Chicago). 


Bound  in  Cloth  Prioe,  Postpaid,  $1.25 


Jewish  Literature 

AND 

OTHER  ESSAYS 

By    GUSTAV    KARPELES 


OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS 

There  is  a  very  significant  sense  in  which  it  is  impossible  really  to  under- 
stand the  Bible  unless  one  knows  something  of  the  working  of  the  Jewish 
mind  in  letters  since  it  was  written.  One  can  heartily  commend  this  little 
volume  to  people  who  want  this  information. — Xalcott  Williams,  Hook 
News. 

The  essays  have  the  charm  of  an  attractive  style,  combined  with  a  subject 
of  great  and  varied  interest. — Independent. 

A  vrry  informing  review  of  the  entire  round  of  Jewish  intellectual  activity. 

— Sunday  School  Times. 

Its  great  merit,  from  the  non-Jewish  standpoint,  is  that  it  looks  at  civiliza- 
tion and  history  and  literature  from  a  new  point  of  view  ;  it  opens  unsus- 
pected vistas,  reveals  a  wealth  of  fact  and  of  opinion  before  unknown  — 
Public  Opinion. 

The  srnthAr  shows  in  every  chapter  the  devoted  love  for  Judaism  which 
prompted  the  work,  and  which  gave  him  e  thusiasm  and  patience  lor  the 
thorough  research  and  study  evinced. — Denver  Republican. 

A  snlendid  and  eloquent  recital  of  the  glories  of  Jewish  religion,  philoso- 
phy and  song. — Philadelphia  Record. 

The  result  of  great  research  by  a  careful,  painstaking  scholar. — Albany 
Journal. 

The  reader  who  is  unacquainted  with  the  literary  life  of  the  highest  circles 
of  Jewi>h  society  will  have  his  eyes  opened  to  things  of  which,  perhaps,  he 
has  never  dreamed. — New  Orleans  Picayune. 

For  popular,  yet  scholarly  treatment,  and  the  varied  character  of  its 
themes,  Dr.  Gustav  Karpeles'  "Jewish  Literature  and  other  Essays"  is  an 
almost  ideal  volume  for  a  Jewish  Publication  Society  to  issue. — Jewish  Mes- 
senger (New  York). 

All  of  the  essays  show  that  thorough  erudition,  clear  discernment  and 
criticism  for  which  their  author  is  noted. — Jewish  Exponent  (  Philadelphia). 


Bound  in  Cloth.    Price,  Postpaid,  $1.25 


Special  Series  No.  3 

THE  TALMUD 

reprinted  from  the 
''LITERARY    REMAINS" 

OF  EMANUEL  DEUTSCH 


OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS 

It  may  be  remembered  tbat  Deutsch,  who  was  an  assistant  librarian  in  the 
British  Museum,  first  published  this  paper  on  the  Talmud  in  the  Quarterly 
Review  of  1867,  and  that  at  once  a  reputation  was  made.  It  was  one  of  the 
few  instances  where  a  .single  paper  in  a  review  made  it  necessary  to  publish 
many  editions  of  the  same  review.— New  York  Times. 

It  is  the  product  of  a  scholarly  mind,  and  it  is  the  genuine  exhibit  of  a 
world-interesting  literary  ■work.— Philadelphia  Press. 

In  it  he  has  given  us  a  clear  and  succinct  history  of  the  Talmud,  with 
mauy  critical  comments  and  some  apt  extracts.  Being  a  man  of  considera- 
ble scholarship  and  fine  taste,  he  has  done  this  work  admirably.— New  York 
Herald. 

Dr.  Deutsch's  analysis  of  it  [The  Talmud]  is  a  standard  work.— Philadel- 
phia Telegraph. 

It  gives  a  large  amount  of  information  regarding  a  very  suggestive  and 
fascinating  subject. — San  Francisco  Call. 

No  better  idea  of  the  Talmud,  with  its  wealth  of  legend  and  occasional 
gems  of  poetic  thought,  could  be  given  in  so  brief  space.—  Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 

The  method  of  treatment  is  classical,  and  at  the  same  time  popular.— 
Jewish  Comment  (Baltimore). 


Boards.    Price,  Postpaid,  30  Cents 


SPECIAL  SERIES 


No.  1 .    The  Persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Russia 

With  a  Map 
Showing  the  Pate  of  Jewish  Settlement 

Also,  an  Appendix,  giving  an  Abridged  Summary  of  Laws, 

Special  and  Restrictive,  relating  to  the  Jews  in 

Russia,  brought  down  to  the  year  1890. 

Paper,     ...       -       -       Price,  postpaid,  25c. 


No.  2.    Voegele's  Marriage  and  Other  Tales 

BY  LOUIS  SCHNABEL 

?1T>*'-', Price,  postpaid,  25c. 

No.  3.    THE  TALMUD 

REPRINTED  FROM  THE 

"LITERARY  REMAINS" 

01f  KMANUEIy  DEUTSCII 
Boards, Price,  postpaid,  30c. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 

t  lS  raw 


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JUL  17194* 


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LOS  ANGELES 


r  mn  a  t"»V 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA-LOS  ANGELES 


L  007  771  982  1 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  409  699    6 


. 


